AHC: Mary Shelly weds Edgar Allan Poe

In the spirit of the Halloween season I propose this AHC to give fans of Gothic horror the ultimate nerd-gasm! :D

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to create a TL in which Mary Shelly (author of Frankenstein) and Edgar Allan Poe (author of The Raven) marry each other.

PODs which include/cause both living longer lives than they did in OTL are acceptable.

Interesting factor; according to Wikipedia
She . . . met the American actor John Howard Payne and the American writer Washington Irving, who intrigued her. Payne fell in love with her and in 1826 asked her to marry him. She refused, saying that after being married to one genius, she could only marry another.

Could Shelly have considered Poe such a 'genius'? :rolleyes:
 
In the spirit of the Halloween season I propose this AHC to give fans of Gothic horror the ultimate nerd-gasm! :D

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to create a TL in which Mary Shelly (author of Frankenstein) and Edgar Allan Poe (author of The Raven) marry each other.

PODs which include/cause both living longer lives than they did in OTL are acceptable.

Could Shelly have considered Poe such a 'genius'? :rolleyes:

There are a few things that cause a problem in this challenge:
1) There is a 12 year age difference with Mary being the oldest - an uncommon thing in 1800s.
2) Any POD could ruin the chances of of the authors not writing their famous peice or not becoming an author at all, at which point the coupling would be pointless, as the main reason would be, for these two gothic-horror writers to collaberate.
3) They were never, at the same point at the same time.

Sadly I think these two lonely hearts, like in otl, may never meet :(
 
There are a few things that cause a problem in this challenge:
1) There is a 12 year age difference with Mary being the oldest - an uncommon thing in 1800s.
2) Any POD could ruin the chances of of the authors not writing their famous peice or not becoming an author at all, at which point the coupling would be pointless, as the main reason would be, for these two gothic-horror writers to collaberate.
3) They were never, at the same point at the same time.

Sadly I think these two lonely hearts, like in otl, may never meet :(
1) True that was unusual for the time but Poe, in his life, had been infatuated with older women. Including one Sarah Whitman, 6 years his senior, whom he courted after his wife's death.
2) 3) Well thats the fun or alternate history isn't it?;)

I'd imagine if the POD's simply include having them avoids their OTL deaths they could be made to meet some time after those dates.
 
1) True that was unusual for the time but Poe, in his life, had been infatuated with older women. Including one Sarah Whitman, 6 years his senior, whom he courted after his wife's death.
2) 3) Well thats the fun or alternate history isn't it?;)

I'd imagine if the POD's simply include having them avoids their OTL deaths they could be made to meet some time after those dates.

You know his wife was his cousin who was 14 years his younger and was 13 when he married her, so he wasnt infatuated with older women.

Also Poe's unusal death is what makes him a mysterious man, unless you want to use Arthur the ASB to invite these two authors to meet and fall in love?
 
There's also a lot of reason to believe that Poe's "marriage" was strictly platonic. He may very well have been asexual.
 
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I HAVE GOT IT.
Sorry I doubted this idea SPJ, and thank you for supplying the challenge. I had the best brain fart :)

In 1839, Mary Shelley, broke her leg while coming down the stairs.[1] The fall was brought on by a headache and a bouts of paralysis, which she had been severely affected by, she also bumped her head, dislodging a tumour of the brain.
She was informed by her doctor to avoid travelling.

In 1842, Edgar Allan Poe, shows up to a meeting at Custom House in Philadelphia, arranged by a friend called, Frederick Thomas. [2]
At this meeting, there was not just Mr. Thomas but also President, John Tyler and his son, Robert.
"Mr Poe," President, John Tyler said, "We are thinking of bringing back Ambassador, Edward Everett, from Britain, to help out the Whig party at home. What would you say to being the new ambassador to Britain for America?"
Edgar was gobbed-smacked, he was expecting a job, but not one as significant as this. "I would say, yes, Mr President." With that he was sent to London.

In England, he resided in the North West area, in the area of Harrow on the Hill, travelling to work when ever needed. While in the area, he found that another gothic novelist lived near by, a Mrs Mary Shelley, a widow of nearly twenty years, he decided to invite her around for a drink and chat.

On the day they met, it is said, that their two hearts melted at once, they spoke the whole night through. Within weeks they were engaged in writing small stories together, with one called the birds [3] being published under the name of "M. E. A Shelley-Poe".
After the massive hit of this book, the two wed, in a gothic wedding, with both of them taking the double-barrel name Shelley-Poe.
th

They use their wedding, as the setting for their next novel about a man, called Timothy Burton, who is wed to a woman who died on her night before her wedding [4]

[1] I know its corny but I had to find away of keeping her in England, instead of travelling through Europe.
[2] OTL he gets drunk and doesn't go to the arranged meeting.
[3] A Victorian version of the book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(story) - being a lot darker
[4] A twist on the Tim Burton film Corpse Bride
 
I HAVE GOT IT.
Sorry I doubted this idea SPJ, and thank you for supplying the challenge. I had the best brain fart :)

In 1839, Mary Shelley, broke her leg while coming down the stairs.[1] The fall was brought on by a headache and a bouts of paralysis, which she had been severely affected by, she also bumped her head, dislodging a tumour of the brain.
She was informed by her doctor to avoid travelling.

In 1842, Edgar Allan Poe, shows up to a meeting at Custom House in Philadelphia, arranged by a friend called, Frederick Thomas. [2]
At this meeting, there was not just Mr. Thomas but also President, John Tyler and his son, Robert.
"Mr Poe," President, John Tyler said, "We are thinking of bringing back Ambassador, Edward Everett, from Britain, to help out the Whig party at home. What would you say to being the new ambassador to Britain for America?"
Edgar was gobbed-smacked, he was expecting a job, but not one as significant as this. "I would say, yes, Mr President." With that he was sent to London.

In England, he resided in the North West area, in the area of Harrow on the Hill, travelling to work when ever needed. While in the area, he found that another gothic novelist lived near by, a Mrs Mary Shelley, a widow of nearly twenty years, he decided to invite her around for a drink and chat.

On the day they met, it is said, that their two hearts melted at once, they spoke the whole night through. Within weeks they were engaged in writing small stories together, with one called the birds [3] being published under the name of "M. E. A Shelley-Poe".
After the massive hit of this book, the two wed, in a gothic wedding, with both of them taking the double-barrel name Shelley-Poe.
th

They use their wedding, as the setting for their next novel about a man, called Timothy Burton, who is wed to a woman who died on her night before her wedding [4]

[1] I know its corny but I had to find away of keeping her in England, instead of travelling through Europe.
[2] OTL he gets drunk and doesn't go to the arranged meeting.
[3] A Victorian version of the book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(story) - being a lot darker
[4] A twist on the Tim Burton film Corpse Bride

Nice! From this documentary I new about the meeting with the president but I didn't know he had a friend set it up for him. Thanks for that.

Its sad that Poe was beginning his self destructive behavior by that time.

That documentary also reminded me that Poe had a childhood crush on the mother of his friend, Mrs. Jane Stith Stanard, who was 16 years older than him and (coincidentally like Mary Shelly) died of brain cancer in 1824. Perhaps Shelly would remind Poe of her?

I didn't know Shelly traveled Europe alot. If she did then instead of keeping her in Britain couldn't Poe be made diplomat of one of the countries she did visit and meet him there, to then keep a long distance romance with?

I do like your POD of getting Poe a job, but where diplomat positions just handed out like that during that era? I was just thinking if it would be better to have Poe' jackass step dad ship him off to a military school in Britain instead of the U of Virginia like in OTL. Then have him meet Shelly that way. That was 1827 and Shelly was already 5 years a widow, and now here may come a young, handsome, athletic, and doating young man to faun on her.;)
 

Stolengood

Banned
Somewhat more plausible than this, though? Poe meeting Charles Dickens, which actually happened in real life! :D
 
A Frankenstein Monster that can still hear the hearts of his victims still beating is very creepy

As to their meeting all it would take would be for a rich benefactor to fund a tour of the others continent. They meet talk shop and all is well in the world of horror.

or . . . Maybe Aaron Burr ends up marrying Mary's doomed sister Fanny and they move to the states. Mary comes to visit when her home life becomes to unbearable and then encounters Poe.

Knowing the family's luck she probably visits America because her sister kills herself in this timeline as well but in the United States so Mary is there for the funeral
 
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