Edgar Allan Poe — “A Descent into the Maelström”

Reading copy:

• “A Descent into the Maelström” — reading copy

Manuscripts and Authorized Printings:

• Text-01 — “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1841 (There are no known draft manuscripts or scratch notes reflecting the original effort of composition. Although J. H. B. Latrobe recalled, in 1875, that this tale was one of those submitted for the Baltimore Saturday Visiter prize in 1833, and a few bibliographers have therefore considered it as one of the Tales of the Folio Club, most scholars dismiss this as an error of memory.) (Graham's magazine was usually available by the middle of the month prior to the issue month. In his July 12, 1841 letter to Snodgrass, Poe states that the story “was finished in a hurry, and therefore its conclusion is imperfect.” Based on this comment, Mabbott (T&S, 1978, 2:576) suggests that the story was composed “very shortly before its publication, probably in March or April 1841.”)
• Text-02 — “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1841
  • Text-02a — “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1841 (Speculated faircopy manuscript prepared for publication in Graham's. This manuscript is not known to have survived. As was typical, the manuscript was probably destroyed in setting type for Text-02b.)
  • Text-02b — “A Descent into the Maelström” — May 1841 — Graham's — (Mabbott text A) (The Poe Log, p. 323, states that the issue was available by April 21, 1841, without explanation. This date is presumably assigned based on the letter by “S. D. L.” published in Graham's in the June issue and dated as April 21, 1841. The letter references having received the May issue.)
• Text-03 — “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1842-1849
  • Text-03a — “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1842 — TGAPP (manuscript of title only) — (The tale is listed in Poe's handwritten table of contents, but the text itself no longer survives. It was probably a modified version of the printed text from Graham's Magazine, and is presumably recorded, with perhaps a few additional changes made in proof, in Text-04)
  • Text-03b — “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1845 — TALES — (Mabbott text B) (For Griswold's 1850 reprinting of this text, see the entry below, under reprints.)
  • Text-03c — “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1845-1849 — manuscript revisions in “J. L. Graham” copy of TALES — (Mabbott text C — This is Mabbott's copy-text)

Reprints:

• “In a Maelström” — about April 1841 (?) — Carpenter's Penny Book (London) (compiled by Joseph Edwards Carpenter) (This reprint was first noted by P. K. Foley, but without details. H&C record a comment by T. O. Mabbott that it “might be before 1850.”)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” (Batimore Sun) (reprinted Text-02) (acknowledged as from Graham's Magazine)
  • “A Descent into the Maelstrom [Part I]” — vol. VIII, no. 149, May 11, 1841 — Baltimore Sun (p. 1)
  • “A Descent into the Maelstrom [Part II]” — vol. VIII, no. 150, May 12, 1841 — Baltimore Sun (p. 1)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — May 15, 1841 — Baltimore Weekly Sun (reprinted Text-02)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — May 15, 1841 — Portland Transcript (vol. 5, no. 5) (pp. 35-37) (reprinted Text-02)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — October 2, 1845 — Newry Telegraph (County Down, Northern Ireland) p. 4, cols. 1-3 (This entry was provided to the Poe Society by Ton Fafianie in an e-maild dated January 25, 2017)
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom Whirlpool” — October 18, 1845 — London Journal (vol. II) (abridged reprint, presumably from Tales)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — August 29, 1846 — The Railway Bell and London Advertiser (London, UK), p. 2 (Information for this entry was sent to the Poe Society by Ton Fafinaie in an e-mail dated November 13, 2021)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — May 26, 1849 — Boston Museum (Boston, MA), vol. 1, no. 50, p. 399 (full front page)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1850 — WORKS — (Griswold reprints from the stereotype plates of Text-04) (Mabbott text D)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1851 — The Irving Offering, a Token of Affection for 1851 (Reissued in 1851 as The Wintergreen; Aways Remembered: A Token for 1852.)
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — 1852 — Tales and Sketches: to which is added The Raven: A Poem, London, George Routledge & Co., pp. 81-95
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — 1852 — Tales of Mystery and Imagination and Humour; and Poems, London: Henry Vizetelly (An undated edition appears about the same time, published by Charles H. Clark and Samuel Orchart Beeton, and their name appears as publisher for the second series), first series pp. 58-79. (with 4 woodcut illustrations)
• “The Maelstrom” — March 21, 1852 — Weekly Dispatch (London, England), whole no. 2627, p. 182 (issue p. 6), col. 1 (printed as a part of a notice of Tales of Mystery, Imagination, and Humor”)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — February 1853 — Anglo-American Magazine (Toronto, published by Thomas Maclear, later Maclear and Co.) (volume II, no. 2, 2:196-202)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — August 25, 1855 — Cambridge Chronicle (Cambridge, MA), vol. 10, no. 34, p. 1, cols. 1-6 (Information for this entry was sent to the Poe Society by Ton Fafinaie in an e-mail dated December 21, 2019) (the author is not mentioned)
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — May 1856 — Boy's Own Magazine (London, UK), vol. III, no. 5, pp. 142-149.
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — 1856 — Cyclopedia of American Literature, New York: Charles Scribner
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — March 1857 — United States Magazine (reprinted at the end of an article about Poe)
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — 1867 — Prose Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, first series (New York: W. J. Widdleton), pp. 161-177 (This collection is extracted from the 1850-1856 edition of Poe's Works. It was reprinted several times.)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1874 — Works of Edgar A. Poe, edited by J. H. Ingram, vol. 1, pp. 150-167 (This collection was subsequently reprinted in various forms)
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — December 1884 — The Book-Worm (New York), vol I, no. 6. (A typical magazine reprint, almost surely from the Widdleton edition of Poe's works, or its successor.)
• “In the Maelstrom” — October 9-16, 1880 — Guide Rock Signal and Republican (Guide Rock, NE), vol. IV (printed with the odd alteration of the title, and with no acknowledgement of the source or author)
  • “In the Maelstrom” — October 9, 1880 — p. 1, cols. 3-5 and p. 2, col. 1
  • “In the Maelstrom” — October 16, 1880 — p. 1, cols. 3-5 and p. 2, cols. 1-2
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — September 29, 1900 — Saturday Bee (Sacramento, CA), vol. LXXXVIII, whole no. 14,663, p. 12, cols. 1-6 (printed under the general title of “Famous Short Stories” and acknowledged as “by Edgar Allan Poe”)
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — March 1906 — Scrap Book (New York) (an early plup magazine)
• A Descent into the Maelstrom — 1920 — Paris: Devambez (Printed in English, with wood engravings by Marc Roux, mostly black and white, but a few in color) (350 copies on Normandy vellum; 20 on Nippon vellum; 10 on Nippon velum and with an extra suite of plates)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — February 1934 — Amazing Stories (vol. 8, no. 10)

Scholarly and Noteworthy Reprints:

• “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1894-1895 — The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 2: Tales, eds. E. C. Stedman and G. E. Woodberry, Chicago: Stone and Kimball (2:237-259)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1897 — The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Poems and Tales, ed. William P. Trent (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company), pp. 27-52
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1902 — The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 2: Tales I, ed. J. A. Harrison, New York: T. Y. Crowell (2:225-247, and 2:383-384)  (Harrison claims to have used the J. L. Graham copy of Tales as his copy-text, but does not include Poe's changes made there. Apparently he used instead an unmarked copy of Tales or Griswold's text.)
• “A Descent Into the Maelström” — 1976 — The Science Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Harold Beaver (New York: Penguin Books), pp. 72-88 and pp. 357-359 (reprinted 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1982)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1978 — The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 2: Tales & Sketches I, ed. T. O. Mabbott, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (2:574-597)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — 1984 — Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Tales, Patrick F. Quinn (New York: Library of America), pp. 432-448
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — 2015 — The Annotated Poe, ed. Kevin J. Hayes (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press), pp. 210-228

Instream Comparative and Study Texts:

• “A Descent into the Maelström” — Comnparative Text (GM and TALES)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — Study Text (TALES-JLG)
• “A Descent into the Maelström” — Comnparative Text (WORKS-1850 and WORKS-1855)

Miscellaneous Texts and Related Items:

• “Une Descent Au Maelstrom” — September 1846 — Revue britannique  (French translation signed “O.N.” H&C give this as “O[ld] N[ick]”)
• “Auf dem Maelstrom: Reiseerinnerungen aus Norwegen” — October 14-18 and 20-21, 1846 — “Ethnography,” Frankfurter Konversationsblatt, 284:1134-1135, 285:1138-1139, 286:1142-1143, 287:1146-1147, 288:1150-1151, 289:1154-1155, 290:1158-1159)  (German translation, acknowledged only as “von Edgar Poe”)
• “Une descent au Maelstrom” — September 24-27, 1847 — La Démocratie Pacifique  (French translation signed “Isabelle Meunier”)
  • “Une descent au Maelstrom” — Part I (September 24, 1847)
  • “Une descent au Maelstrom” — Part II (September 27, 1847)
• “Der Mahlstrom” — April 17 and 24, 1852 — Bremischer Beobachter, 185:2-4, 186:4-5  (German translation by A. Malz, acknowledged only as “Nach dem Englischen.”)
• “Eine Hinabwirbelung in den Maalstrom” — 1855 — Deutsche Monatshefte (New York), 6:404-413  (German translation by Adolf Strodtmann, acknowledged only as “Aus dem Englischen.”)
• “Une descente dans le maelström” — (French translation by Charles Baudelaire)
  • “Une descente dans le maelström” — February 5-7, 1855 — Le Pays
    • “Une descente dans le maelström” — Part I  (February 5, 1855)
    • “Une descente dans le maelström” — Part II  (February 6, 1855)
    • “Une descente dans le maelström” — Part III  (February 7, 1855)
  • “Une descente dans le maelström” — 1856 — Histoires extraordinaires, Paris: Michel Lévy frères
• “I Malströmmen” — June 30, 1867 and July 7, 1867 — Figaro  (Danish translation by Robert Watt, noted by Carl L. Anderson, Poe in Northlight, 1973, p. 15)
• “I Malströmmen” — 1868 — Phantastiske Fortaellinger [Fantastic Tales], Copenhagen  (Danish translation by Robert Watt, noted by Anderson, p. 15)
• “Una discesa nel Maelstrom” — 1876 — Racconti Incredibili, Milano, Italy: Tipografia Editrice Lombarda  (Italian translation, with several illustrations)
• “[A Descent into the Maelstrom]” — 1881 — Underliga historier, Stockholm  (Swedish translation, noted by Anderson, p. 54)
• “Une descente dans le maëlstrom” — 1885 — Oeuvres Choisies d‘Edgar Pöe, Paris: A. Hennuyer  (French translation by William L. Hughes)
• “Eine Fahrt in den Maelstrom” — 1890 — Seltsame Gesdichten, Stuttgart: Spemann  (Germanh translation by Alfred Mürenberg)
• ”De Neerdaling in den Maalstroom” — about 1930 — Fantastische Vertellingen van Edgar Allan Poe, Haarlem: H. D. Tjeenk Willink & Zoon (Dutch translation by Machiel Elias Barentz, with elaborate illustrations by Albert Hahn, somewhat reminiscent of those by Harry Clarke)
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — 1970 — a reading by Ugo Toppo as volume IV of Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe, issued on the CMS Records label (CMS-588)
• “A Descent into the Maelstrom” — 1986 — Audio book, read by Fritz Weaver. (issued on cassette by Random House, with four other tales)
• “A Descent into the Malestrom” — 2017 — Audio book (unabridged), read by Chris Aruffo

• Anderson, Carl L., Poe in Northlight: The Scandanavian Response to His Life and Work, Durham, NC: Duke Unversity Press, 1973.
• Bandy, William T., “A New Light on the Source of Poe's ‘A Descent into the Maelstrom’,” American Literature (January 1953), 24:534-537.
• Egan, Kenneth V., Jr., “Descent to an Ascent: Poe's Use of Perspective in ‘A Descent into the Maelstrom’,” Studies in Short Fiction (1982), 19:157-162.
• Engel, Leonard W., “Edgar Allan Poe's Use of the Enclosure Device in ‘A Descent into the Maelstrom’,” Essays in Art and Sciences (1979), 8:21-26.
• Finbolt, Richard D., “The Vision at the Brink of the Abyss: ‘A Descent into the Maelstrom’ in the Light of Poe's Cosmology,” Georgia Review (1973), 27:356-366.
• Frank, Frederick S., “The Aqua-Gothic Voyage of ‘A Descent into the Maelstrom’,” American Transcendentalist Quarterly (1976), 29:85-93.
• Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bibliography of First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Hattiesburg, MS: The Book Farm, 1943.
• Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, ed., The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Vols 2-3 Tales and Sketches), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978.
• Murphy, Christina, “The Philosophical Pattern of ‘A Descent into the Maelstrom’,” Poe Studies (June 1973), 6:25-26.
• Seaman, Robert E., “Lacan, Poe, and the Descent of the Self,” Texas Studies in Language and Literature (1989), 31:196-214.
• Shuman, R. Baird, “Norway Mile: A Linguistic Note,” Notes & Queries (Sept. 1953), 202:398.
• Sweeney, Gerard M., “ ‘Beauty and Truth‘: Poe's ‘A Descent into the Maelstrom’,” Poe Studies (June 1973), 6:22-25.
• Turner, Arlin, “Sources of Poe's ‘A Descent into the Maelstrom’,” Journal of English and Germanic Philology (July 1947), 46:298-301.
• Ware, Tracy, “ ‘A Descent into the Maelstrom‘: The Status of Scientific Rhetoric in a Perverse Romance,” Studies in Short Fiction (1992), 29:77-84.
• Weber, Jean-Paul, “Edgar Poe on the Theme of the Clock,” La Nouvelle Revue Francais (August-September 1958), 68:301-311 and 69:498-508.
• Wyllie, John Cooke, “A List of the Texts of Poe's Tales,” Humanistic Studies in Honor of John Calvin Metcalf, Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1941, pp. 322-338.
• Yonce, Margaret, “The Spiritual Descent into the Maelstrom: A Debt to ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’,” Poe Newsletter (April 1969), 2:26-29.