"Eleonora" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842 in Philadelphia in the literary annual The Gift.

The story follows an unnamed narrator who lives with his cousin and aunt in "The Valley of the Many-Colored Grass", an idyllic paradise full of fragrant flowers, fantastic trees, and a "River of Silence".

And life arose in our paths; for the tall flamingo, hitherto unseen, with all gay flowing birds, flaunted his scarlet plumage before us.Eleonora, however, was sick — "made perfect in loveliness only to die".

The story was first published in the 1842 edition of The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1842, an annual publication, as "Eleonora: A Fable".

[1] In 1845, Poe added the opening epigraph, a quote from Raymond Lull that translates to "Under the protection of a specific form, my soul is safe.

At the time of the publication of this very short tale, his wife Virginia had just begun to show signs of illness, though she would not die for another five years.

The abrupt ending, with the narrator's new love only named in the third to last paragraph, is somewhat unconvincing if this is Poe's attempt at justifying his own feelings.

[4] This may be meant facetiously, but it also may explain the excessively paradise-like description of the valley[5] and how it changes with their love and, later, with Eleonora's death.

[7] Eleonora embodies many typical traits in Poe's female character: she is young, passive, and completely devoted to her love.