The Raven's Tale

Lots of dark, creepy, mildly gory, horrifying, and macabre imagery in line with some of Poe's writing and obsession with death. Brief pairing of sex with violence when during a kiss with a fantasy creature. Poe sees gruesome, horrifying images in his mind that appear years later in his work. Another nonsexual kiss with a fantasy creature luring Poe into death by drowning. Guns are fired and a fantasy creature is hit with a gun; agonizing pain is described during surgery to remove the bullet. A few fights, one of which describes blood and flesh hanging in strips of a man's arms after he was bitten by his attacker. Poe briefly experiments with self-harm ("The exploration of pain for the sake of my art.") by biting his own arm. Other fights describe choking, punching, kicking, pain, bloody noses, and black eyes. An instance of verbal sexual harassment is mentioned without saying what was said.

Brief pairing of sex with violence when during a kiss with a fantasy creature, Poe sees gruesome, horrifying images in his mind that appear years later in his work. Another nonsexual kiss with a fantasy creature luring Poe into death by drowning. A few other kisses briefly described. Mention of beautiful breasts and an ample bosom showing. Poe's foster father Allan has a long-term, extra-marital relationship and the children resulting from it are mentioned. Once Poe wishes Allan would leave the house to "frig" his mistress until they turn blue and collapse on the bed. Lenore is attracted to women and some same-sex kissing and cuddling between fantasy creatures is briefly described.

"Ass," "damn," "bugger," "turd," "bastard," "horse shit," "bloody hell," and "frig."

Edgar doesn't drink often, but he has a very low tolerance for alcohol and sometimes it only takes a few sips for him to exhibit very drunken behavior and even pass out. Consequences are mostly morning hangover symptoms and throwing up. His foster father drinks pretty heavily, once showing signs in the morning of being slightly drunk. Several times Edgar drinks to deliberately silence his muse (suppress his feelings and creative instincts). College students regularly drink heavily. A few tavern settings mention beer and brandy. Edgar's foster father also smokes a pipe; the smell of tobacco is mentioned quite a few times, usually in an unpleasant context. A couple of mentions of "opium eaters." Author's note mentions evidence or the lack of it for Poe's own drug use and alcohol abuse later in life. Poe never uses drugs in this story.

Parents need to know that The Raven's Tale is historical fiction that explores the life of Edgar Allan Poe as a 17-year-old. There're lots of dark, gruesome, horrifying, and sometimes violent images that are meant to show how he became the famous writer obsessed with death and darkness.There's some fighting, a few mentions of blood, fantasy violence that describes blood and pain, one somewhat gory description of injuries to an arm from biting, and vague pairing of sex with violence when during a kiss with a fantasy creature. Poe sees gruesome, horrifying images in his mind that appear years later in his work. Sexual content includes a few brief descriptions of real-world, opposite-sex kisses and a couple of same-sex kisses between fantasy creatures. Between Poe and his foster father there's a fair amount of drinking that's never glamorized and mention consequences like hangover symptoms and throwing up. An important character smokes a pipe and the smell is usually mentioned as unpleasant. There are a couple of mentions of people addicted to opium. Readers will learn a lot about Poe and his world. The Author's Note, list of resources, and list of sources for the poems and other works quoted in the story may inspire readers to learn and read more.