The Balloon Hoax, Edgar Allan Poe
The Balloon Hoax, Edgar Allan Poe
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The Balloon Hoax

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

Narrator: Cathy Dobson

Unabridged: 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/10/2013

Categories: Fiction, Classic

Synopsis

The Balloon Hoax was first published in The Sun newspaper in New York in 1844. Originally presented as a true story, it detailed European Monck Mason's trip across the Atlantic Ocean in only three days in a hot air balloon.

The story turned out to be a hoax and the paper published a retraction two days later (rumoured to also have been written by Poe himself) admitting the deception.The story ignited a fever of excitement in New York: Poe himself claimed that the Sun building was "besieged" by people wanting copies of the newspaper. "I never witnessed more intense excitement to get possession of a newspaper," he wrote.

The furore around the story is a testimony to Poe's ability to build up a narrative with such plausible details, that it appears almost inconceivable that it should not be the truth.

About Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, and literary critic who is credited with inventing the detective fiction genre and with contributing to the emerging science fiction genre. He began his literary career with the anonymous publication of a collection of his poems entitled Tamerlane and Other Poems. He then turned to writing prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming well known for his particular style of literary criticism. He served for a time on the staff of the New York Mirror, in which his poem "The Raven" was published. Poe's other well-known works include his stories "The Purloined Letter," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," and "The Mystery of Marie Roget."

Reviews

Goodreads review by Razvan on June 05, 2024

I have some mixed feelings about this one, as Poe had shown an unexpected sense of humor, in order to create a hoax, but (of course, if you ask me, a thing I have doubts about...) he failed in creating an entertaining story. Eight citizens want to travel by balloon from Wales to France, but due to b......more

Goodreads review by Jack on January 04, 2023

4 Stars. It's interesting. Poe's "The Balloon Hoax" is one of 15 stories in "The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales" from 1960. Fourteen pages. This work was first printed as a news story in the "New York Sun" in 1844 - a fictional account of a crossing of the Atlantic in a lighter-than-air......more

Goodreads review by caitlin on April 16, 2023

i'm not rating a short story, i'm rating a prank. turns out, people were spreading false information even in 1884! 4.5/5 stars. edgar allan poe wrote this fictitious short story in the style of a genuine newspaper article that was actually published in the new york sun in 1844. it's a story in which mu......more

Goodreads review by José on July 10, 2020

This is unquestionably the most stupendous, the most interesting, and the most important undertaking ever accomplished or even attempted by man. What magnificent events may ensue, it would be useless now to think of determining The Ballon-Hoax is, of course, what inspired Jules Verne to write Around......more

Goodreads review by Benjamin on February 24, 2022

Oh ... another balloon story ... great ... Although to be honest, this wasn't a bad story. It tells about a bunch of scientists, desperate to make a name for themselves after several failed attempts, who construct a balloon in which they intend to traverse the English Channel. Except due to strong co......more

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