The last years of Edgar Allan Poe's personal life were marked by tragedy and, oddly, romance. His beloved Sissy died in January 1847, a horrendous blow for the already depressed writer. But before too long he was appealing to other women for affection, generating varying degrees of enthusiasm among the ladies. Poe was attracted to “superior women,” but his attempts to remarry failed—partly due to his own shortcomings, and partly to the hostile interference of others.