A Tale of the Ragged Mountains is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe partially based on his experiences while he is a student at the University of Virginia. It was first published in Godey's Lady's Book in April 1844 and was included in Poe's short story collection Tales, published in New York by Wiley and Putnam in 1845. Set in late November 1827, the tale is begun by an unidentified narrator whose story is the loose outer frame for the central tale of Augustus Bedloe, a wealthy young invalid whom the narrator has known "casually" for eighteen years yet who still remains an enigma. Because of ongoing problems with neuralgia, Bedloe has retained the exclusive services of 70-year-old physician Dr. Templeton, a devotee of Franz Mesmer and the doctrine of animal magnetism, also called "mesmerism".In the text of "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" readers can find scientific theories of Poe's day such as Mesmerism, and the story also connects with British imperial history as in the kiosk scene in the "Eastern-looking city."