14. Poe Was Accused Of Having Affairs With Both Frances Sargent Osgood And Elizabeth F Ellet
It also appears that Poe was unable to keep his hands off other women, with the writer accused of many infidelities during his lifetime - most notably with married poet Frances Sargent Osgood (pictured above) and another author, Elizabeth F Ellet. Bizarrely, it appears Virginia was well aware of Poe's close relationship to Osgood - and may even have actively encouraged it due to the fact she believed her husband needed "restraining" by an older woman. Virginia even regularly invited Osgood around to their marital home... Ellet meanwhile pursued Poe for years and, although he wrote that he found her affection for him "loathsome" and "could do nothing but repel (it) with scorn", he did publish some of her works in the Broadway Journal. Some scholars have argued that Poe did not need nor desire sexual gratification in life, though the persistent rumours of his indiscretions suggest otherwise...
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
