Edgar Allan Poe was an American short-story writer, poet, critic, and editor who is famous for his cultivation of mystery and the macabre. His tale The Murders in the Rue Morgue initiated the modern detective story, and the atmosphere in his tales of horror is unrivalled in American fiction. His The Raven numbers among the best-known poems in the national literature. Published in 1838, the story Ligeia revolves around an unknown narrator who is married to a gorgeous, smart woman named Ligeia. Нe fails to remember her last name, but he remembers her physical appearance in great detail. She is tall, 'emaciated', and has raven hair and black eyes. He thinks that he met her in a city near the Rhine. Although the narrator considers her to be of exquisite beauty he notes that there is a strangeness or irregularity to her appearance that he cannot quite pinpoint. Ligeia is also highly educated. She speaks several languages and her knowledge of 'moral, physical, and mathematical science,' the narrator remarks, is greater than that of any man he knows. The two of them study together, though the narrator gives few details about the nature of these studies, referring to them as 'metaphysical investigation.' Ligeia becomes suddenly and increasingly ill. She passionately expresses her devotion to the narrator as she dies. Before she dies she asks the narrator to repeat a poem that she has written. Enjoy free online English audiobook “Ligeia”, a novel by Edgar Allan Poe.
