The Man of the Crowd

"The Man of the Crowd" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe about a nameless narrator following a man through a crowded London. It was first published in 1840. The Man of the Crowd takes place in an unnamed coffee shop in London. As the narrator sits, he is fascinated by the crowd outside the window and wonders how isolated people think they are even though there is a "very denseness of the company around."