You can go here to read an interesting article co-authored by Erin Sheley and Zvi Rosen titled The Purloined Debtor: Edgar Allan Poe's Bankruptcy in Law and Letters. Both Sheley and Rosen teach law but the first half of their piece is a sustained analysis of Poe's literary oeuvre in light of his recurring familial, economic, and legal crises. If ever a reason not to engage in formalistic New Criticism, Poe's works are it.
Closer to my life's work, however, is the second half of the article that addresses Poe's personal bankruptcy. Sheley and Rosen detail Poe's case under the short-lived Bankruptcy Act of 1841. The 1841 Act represents a milestone in the history of bankruptcy law because, for the first time, debtors could seek to discharge their debts voluntarily. Under all previous regimes, only creditors could initiate the process.
While I addressed the 1841 Act from the point of view of creditors in The Missing Piece of the Puzzle: Perspectives on the Wage Priority in Bankruptcy (here or here), The Purloined Debtor examines the experience from a debtor's side. As such, it helps complete a picture of a system that in fundamental respects remains in place today.
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