Coming Soon: Favorite September Reads of 2025! Daphne du Maurier, Edgar Allan Poe & Stephanie Cowell

 Here are three of my favorite books I've read so far this year in no particular order and all to be published next month! Thank you to Netgalley, Regal House Publishing, and Simon & Schuster for review copies.

Published September 16th 2025 by Regal House Publishing

Paperback, 266 pages

Author(s):

Stephanie Cowell 

ISBN:

9781646036240 

Description

In 1846 Yorkshire, the Brontë sisters—Charlotte, Anne, and Emily—navigate precarious lives marked by heartbreak and struggle. Charlotte faces rejection from the man she loves, while their blind father and troubled brother add to their burdens. Despite their immense talent, no one will publish their poetry or novels. Amidst this turmoil, Emily encounters a charming shepherd during her solitary walks on the moors, yet he remains unseen by anyone else.

After Emily’s untimely death, Charlotte—now a successful author with Jane Eyre—stumbles upon hidden letters and a mysterious map. As she stands on the brink of her own marriage, Charlotte is determined to uncover the truth about her sister’s secret relationship.

The Man in the Stone Cottage is a poignant exploration of sisterly bonds and the complexities of perception, asking whether what feels real to one person can truly be real to another.

Stephanie Cowell is such an amazing writer. I adore all her novels. I am grateful to be able to read an early online digital copy of The Man in the Stone Cottage. My favorite chapters were the ones concentrating on what I like to call a' Wuthering Heights' influenced love story between Emily Bronte and Johnathan the shepherd. Chapters also focus on Charlotte and Emily while concentrating on highlights of both siblings personal and professional lives.

I cried through the chapters that mentioned sisters Charlotte and Emily's remembrances of their departed mother, Maria Bronte. I swear Stephanie Cowell has a way of writing sibling familial love, tragedy, and trauma so beautifully.

The Man in the Stone Cottage by Stephanie Cowell is a warm and wonderful book about a family we think we know so well but perhaps a writers imagination can show you another beautiful perspective of a family's life.

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• Publisher: Adams Media/Simon & Schuster 
• Publishing Date:    (September 23, 2025)
• Length: 240 pages
• ISBN13: 9781507224137

Publisher Description

Step into the fascinating and gothic world of Edgar Allan Poe, the master of macabre, with this compelling literary biography that unravels his dark genius, iconic works, and enduring influence on gothic literature.

Discover the tumultuous life of Edgar Allan Poe, the legendary gothic author, marked by literary genius and personal tragedy, and explore the haunting themes that defined his timeless creations. From excerpts of his chilling tales like The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven to insightful commentary and unforgettable quotes about and from Poe himself, this book paints a vivid portrait of the man behind the pen.

This beautifully curated book is both an inspiring biography and a celebration of literary brilliance. Whether you’re a longtime admirer of Poe or just beginning your literary adventure, Pocket Portraits: Edgar Allan Poe will leave you fascinated, inspired, and longing for more.

Levi Lionel Leland wrote an excellent, concise and fun to read pocket biography.  I encourage any Poe fan or not to read this biography and learn so much about who Edgar Allan Poe really was.

After Midnight Thirteen Tales for the Dark Hours by Daphne du Maurier

 with an introduction by Stephen King

• Publisher: Scribner (September 30, 2025)
• Length: 528 pages
• ISBN13: 9781668204269

Daphne du Maurier is best known for Rebecca, “one of the most influential novels of the 20th century” (Sarah Waters) and basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic film adaptation. More than thirty-five years after her death, du Maurier is celebrated for her gothic genius and stunning psychological insight by authors such as Ottessa Moshfegh, Maggie O’Farrell, Lucy Foley, Gillian Flynn, Jennifer Egan, and countless others, including Stephen King and Joe Hill.

After Midnight brings together some of du Maurier’s darkest, most haunting stories, ranging from sophisticated literary thriller to twisted love story. Alongside classics such as “The Birds” and “Don’t Look Now,”—both of which inspired unforgettable films—are gems such as “Monte Verità,” a masterpiece about obsession, mysticism, and tragic love, and “The Alibi,” a chilling tale of an ordinary man’s descent into lies, manipulation, and sinister fantasies that edge dangerously close to reality. In “The Blue Lenses,” a woman recovering from eye surgery finds she now perceives those around her as having animal heads corresponding to their true natures. “Not After Midnight” follows a schoolteacher on holiday in Crete who finds a foreboding message from the chalet’s previous occupant who drowned while swimming at night. In “The Breakthrough,” a scientist conducts experiments to harness the power of death, blurring the line between genius and madness.

Each story in this collection exemplifies du Maurier’s exquisite writing and singular insight into human frailty, jealousy, and the macabre. She “makes worlds in which people and even houses are mysterious and mutable; haunted rooms in which disembodied spirits dance at absolute liberty” (Olivia Laing, author of Crudo). Daphne du Maurier is mistress of the sleight of hand and slow-burning menace, often imitated and never, ever surpassed.

Stories include:
-“The Blue Lenses”
-“Don’t Look Now”
-“The Alibi”
-“The Apple Tree”
-“The Birds”
-“Monte Verita”
-“The Pool”
-“The Doll”
-“Ganymede”
-“Leading Lady”
-“Not After Midnight”
-“Split Second”
-“The Breakthrough”

Daphne du Maurier at her writing desk

After Midnight, Daphne du Maurier’s short story collection is bone chillingly superb. There is a subtlety to the way she builds suspense within her storytelling.  Her characters are fleshed out, complicated and brilliant to behold. The plot to her stories are usually intricate and layered complete with what mystery writers call, 'red herrings!' Even if you don't enjoy every short story in After Midnight it will never be for bad writing. I don't know what it will be for but it won't be for that. 

To Pre-order Edgar Allan Poe and Daphne du Maurier books, SimonandSchuster

To Pre-order Stephanie Cowell's book,  Regal House Publishing

Happy Birthday Edgar Allan Poe: Gothic Dreamer (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)

On this day in 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts a baby boy named Edgar was born to David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins both actors themselves. Weaving a thread of sickness, death, and abandonment throughout Edgar's life a happy childhood was not to be. You see, his father abandoned his family in 1810 a year after he was born and if that were not enough his mother died on December 8, 1811 probably of Tuberculosis. Happiness and contentment would not last very long in Edgar's life setting up a lifetime of experiences to draw upon when writing his tales of Gothic and Horror. For instance when you read such classics as, 'The Tell Tale Heart', 'The Pit and the Pendulum', 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', or read his achingly sad and mournfully yearning poems, 'Annabel Lee' 'Eulalie','Alone', 'A Dream Within A Dream','Bridal Ballad',  its all there; Poe's life laid out before you in his plots and characters!

 

Edgar Allan Poe's mother- Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins, performing on stage behind the footlights. Undated by  Ross, William Charles, Sir, 1794-1860 

@Harry Ransom Center The University of Texas at Austin, From the William H. Koester Collection.

 To My Mother by Edgar Allan Poe

    Because I feel that, in the Heavens above,
      The angels, whispering to one another,
    Can find, among their burning terms of love,
      None so devotional as that of "Mother,"
    Therefore by that dear name I long have called you-
      You who are more than mother unto me,
    And fill my heart of hearts, where Death installed you
      In setting my Virginia's spirit free.
    My mother- my own mother, who died early,
      Was but the mother of myself; but you
    Are mother to the one I loved so dearly,
      And thus are dearer than the mother I knew
    By that infinity with which my wife
      Was dearer to my soul than its soul-life.

 Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe Print (etching). Swirling background of portrait includes The Raven, Annabel Lee, and the winged demon from Poe's works. Undated by   Learned, Arthur Garfield, 1872-1959   From the William H. Koester Collection. @Harry Ransom Center The University of Texas at Austin. 

In my research, I have come across the handwritten copy of a poem dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe written by John Erskine (October 5, 1879 – June 2, 1951). He was a composer, author, educator from New York City. I also found the typed up version in Collected Poems 1907-1922 by John Erskine. I wanted to share both here with you, so don't worry if you cannot read the handwriting! 

 

 

Edgar Allan Poe's Terror of the Soul: The exhibit at The Morgan: October 4, 2013 through January 26, 2014

Terror of the Soul comes from a phrase Poe wrote in his preface to Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque and is the name of the Edgar Allan Poe exhibit currently running at The Morgan in Manhattan, New York.  This is a true Poe exhibit. Here you will not find letters, painting portraits, from his wife, Virginia Poe or fellow authoress, Frances Osgood. There was a mention of Poe’s friend and enemy Griswold in a letter but it is strictly a male dominated exhibit.  For instance, within the two rooms are featured framed on the wall Poe’s handwritten works Annabel Lee and The Bells, one of the earliest printings of ‘The Raven’, three copies of Tamerlane, his earliest published work, the first printing of The Cask of Amontillado. Some lesser known works such as A Reviewer Reviewed which is a never-before-exhibited piece he wrote under a pseudonym and his annotated copy of his last published book, Eureka are here.

Let’s get to some of my favorite pieces…

 Now, I could have sworn that I read in one of the magazine exhibit mentions that Edgar Allan Poe's coffin was going to be included in this exhibit. I believe it was in his museum in Baltimore but there was no coffin, here! The Gothic lover in me was intrigued and fascinated at the same time to have an opportunity to cast my eyes upon such an item. In fact, I was tempted to title this review, "Damn, No Coffin!"  There was under glass a wood fragment with Poe's faded signature on it, supposedly from his coffin featured in this exhibit along with a bust of Poe in the corner of the room.  The bulk of this first room shared space with a smaller exhibit of J.D. Salinger letters, so I walked into the larger red walled room featured above...Here was Utopia...to the right side of this photo was a recent portrait of Poe that was featured by the artist on a stamp. Not a nineteenth-century painting and the only painting included it was beautiful to behold. For me, the highlight were the daguerreotypes featured and the author letters under glass...but I'll get there! 

 

Edgar Allan Poe color portrait by Michael J. Deas (1956) and (2008), The Morgan Library, NYC

You will find three daguerreotypes included in this exhibit. Two are my favorites and are just really fascinating for different reasons. One image of Poe’s face represents Terror of the Soul; this is the “Ultima Thule” daguerreotype. It was made four days after Poe took an overdose of laudanum which is looked upon as an attempt to take his life. Matthew Brady was believed to be the photographer but it is a myth which some believe not to be true.  As is the case with Edgar Allan Poe, not every aspect of his life is proven. 

 Daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe by Masury & Hartshorn, [Providence, Rhode Island, November 1848]
Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909

The second daguerreotype was a beautiful smaller image of Poe in a black leather case. William Pratt opened the Virginia Sky Light Daguerrean Gallery in Richmond in 1846, seven years after the daguerreotype was introduced to the United States. According to Pratt, Poe never fulfilled a promise he once made to pose for him until they bumped into each other on a sidewalk in front of his gallery in mid-September 1849. Poe said he was not suitably dressed but was coaxed upstairs and photographed. The image shows a man, as disheveled as he claimed to be, with a haggard face betraying his emotional condition. Poe died in Baltimore three weeks later. Pratt held a patent on a daguerreotype coloring process, used to impart flesh tone to Poe’s face and hand. 

  William Pratt (1822-1893).  Daguerreotype portrait of Edgar Allan Poe. Daguerreotype photograph, (10 x 7.5 cm.) Richmond, Virginia: Pratt's Gallery, September 1849, The Morgan Library, NYC

An interesting section of the wall housed framed photographs of some of Poe’s fellow admirers such as:  Oscar Wilde, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Walt Whitman and even George Bernard Shaw!  Also, autographed manuscripts are displayed under glass: Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1885), Oscar Wilde’s, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ 1896), Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle’s, ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles.  

      Sir Arthur Conan Doyle                                                                                                                                                               Oscar Wilde

Autograph Manuscript of Oscar Wilde's 'Dorian Gray'

Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' Autograph Manuscript

My favorite Conan-Doyle story, 'Hound of the Baskervilles' Autograph Manuscript

 

 An interesting engraving found on the wall of Edgar Allan Poe by Thomas B. Welch and Adam B. Walter, 1844, from Graham's Magazine 27, February 1845. 

Edgar Allan Poe said of this steel engraving, 'It scarcely resembles me at all!'

 The highlight might have been Poe's handwritten poem, Annabel Lee