The Bookshelf: The Poe Estate

“The Poe Estate” by Polly Shulman is the third book in her trilogy about the New York Circulating Material Repository, a library that has collections of fictional artifacts from classic literature. The previous two books in the trilogy, entitled “The Grimm Legacy” and “The Wells Bequest”, focused on fairy tales and science fiction respectively. While “The Poe Estate” focuses on items from classic gothic stories.

“The Poe Estate” tells the story of Sukie O’Dare, whose older sister, Kitty, has recently passed away from a family disease. Kitty’s ghost has haunted Sukie for some time, and since moving into her elderly cousin Hepzibah Throne’s rundown mansion, Sukie has encountered other, much older, ghosts.

While helping her parents at a flea market, Sukie is introduced to Elizabeth Rew and Andre Merritt, employees from the New York Circulating Material Repository. Sukie is quickly introduced to the Repository, with fictional artifacts such as witches’ brooms, a library of books from within stories, and even houses straight from gothic literature. Along the way, Sukie must solve a mystery involving her ancestors and hidden treasure, and has to find the courage to let Kitty’s ghost go.

Although “The Poe Estate” is based on the gothic genre, its’ plot occasionally seems more based off of mysteries. And because it is the third book in a trilogy, there are a few references to the previous two books that may go over new reader’s heads.

“The Poe Estate” is a great book for fans of classic gothic literature to read. There are plenty of references to authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft to look out for, and a solid plot that makes this book great on its’ own.