The Murders in the Rue Morgue

by Edgar Allan Poe

In just five stories, Edgar Allan Poe laid down most of the ground rules of detective fiction. In the three tales featuring Auguste Dupin (The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget and The Purloined Letter) he created the Great Detective, not to mention the locked-room mystery, the notion of armchair detection and the secret-service story; The Gold Bug revolved around the use of cyphers; and Thou Art the Man made use of false clues and the least likely suspect.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Mystery, Horror, Audiobook, Crime

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1841

About the author

The name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.

Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.

The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...

Reviews

[Elizabeth McConnon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is considered the first modern detective story and I definitely wasn't expecting that ending but I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed by this one. I wanted an 'emo' lyrical horror of a detective story but this is more Sherlock than Constantine. Still great, but lacking that definitive Poe-ness.

[Alice Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really confusing. Shocking but funny but also really random. Idk

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved these 'back the'. Maybe time to squeeze in a re-read this year.

[Saranya ⋆☕︎ ˖ [hibernating] · Rating 3 out of 5]

LOVED IT!!!
Can't believe that Doyle had taken the inspiration for his Sherlock Holmes from thisss!!!

[wallflowersinbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun and I really liked Dupin. He reminds me a lot of Sherlock (which makes sense since this short story is considered one of the first detective fictions) which really charmed me. I really like casually smart characters like him but the reveal wasn’t that amazing to me. I did enjoy the story but I like mysteries where I slowly figure out what happened as clues are discovered. The Murders in the Rue Morgue’s twist was so shocking that there’s no way I would’ve even thought of that. I thought it was super fun, but it wasn’t my type of mystery. It’s a three star for me. Entertaining but not memorable. It was also a bit slow 😅😅

[Lynxie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sometimes dry and difficult read. Things tend to get overexplained in such detail that I sometimes had trouble to not drift off with my thoughts. The second story about a real, unsolved murder case from 1841 was particularly boring (yes, I was suprised, too). But I really liked the fourth story "The Gold Beetle" which is about the deciphering of a message. All in all, it was historically interesting, but nothing someone absolutely has to read - no, not even a diehard detective fan.

[Iván Martínez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sorprendentemente gore para la época en la que fue escrito, el plot twist sigue siendo uno de los mejores en los cuentos policiacos. Sobretodo porque, más allá de lo sobrenatural, hombre vs. naturaleza es el tema narrativo por excelencia.

[Arun Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dupin seems to follow in the footsteps of Sherlock!!

[BlueLemon]

I am so deeply and inexcusably sorry but I just could not finish this

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

gordy’s home!

[Sun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading in 2011 has gotten off to a great start with Crime Masterwork's collection of five Poe crime stories. The first, The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841), is widely considered the first detective story and introduces C. Auguste Dupin (who is clearly the template for Sherlock Holmes, created more than 40 years later in 1887). Dupin's talents are such that he is more mind-reader than deductive logician. Poe's style is rather didactic and abstruse but this serves to punctuate the gruesome and bizarre deaths at the heart of the tale. The solution is not at all satisfactory to modern readers** but is interesting in the exposition of discordant ear-witness testimony and in being the first locked room mystery.

The Mystery of Marie Roget (1842) is a fictionalised account of the death of Mary Cecilia Rogers in New York, relocated to Paris. The story is an attempt at armchair detection, with Poe disputing, via Dupin, theories of the popular press and suggesting several unexplored avenues of investigation but not actually naming the murderer. It's a fascinating logical exercise but doesn't make for thrilling reading.

The Purloined Letter (1844) again features Dupin, who is consulted by a police official stumped in his attempts to recover a letter of unspecified importance. The solution to the purloined letter has been variously referenced in popular culture as things being "hidden in plain sight", although Poe's actual solution is more cunning. There is more than a passing resemblance between The Purloined Letter and Doyle's "A Scandal in Bohemia" (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) also involving royalty, a stolen article of some import, the detective in disguise and a distracting ruse.

The Gold Bug (1843) is a search for treasure and purportedly the inspiration for Stevenson's Treasure Island. It is notable for the use and decoding of a cipher.

"Thou Art the Man" (1844) revolves around the disappearance of a man and the suspicions of the community, lead by his best friend and neighbour, that his nephew is responsible for the murder. It is deficient as a story, except perhaps for the macabre way in which the "least likely suspect" is exposed.
The skeleton plot appears to have been copied by Doyle in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes).

At times, reading Poe requires a dictionary in one hand and a classical education in the other, but the range and depth of his knowledge as reflected in his writing is impressive. As an enthusiast of crime fiction, I found most striking the fact that Poe laid down the fundamentals of crime fiction in these short works over 160 years ago. And amen to him for doing so!

** Spoiler: In my mind, the story is entitled "Death by Orang-utan".

[Daze · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it was an intriguing murder mystery (Dupin being much like Sherlock Holmes), I found the resolution to be quite arbitrary.

[Jerry Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always interesting to peer into the dark corridors of EAP's mind. I wonder how he spent his time when he wasn't writing macabre fiction. This is pretty horrifying in its description of a couple of seriously disturbing murders that took place in an apartment. Never having read this before, and not caring for horror movies, I assumed that the action actually took place in a morgue but apparently that is simply the name of the street where the murders took place.

It is a very well known tale and I was vaguely familiar with the solution to the case, since the plot line has made its way into the general discourse. I have even seen it referenced in "Frasier". This doesn't plumb the depths of supernatural activity, and whilst the denouement and the discovery of the culprit is somewhat farfetched, it doesn't stretch credibility too far. The story does introduce elements of plot that are compelling and have been used throughout literature since, although EAP is widely credited with introducing them with this tale. Namely: baffling murders in a locked room where there is no obvious means of ingress or egress. Strange elements to the nature of the murders that speak of savagery but with no additional elements such as robbery involved. It's a detective story that introduces us to detection and allows us to follow the lines of thought of those investigating.

As always with EAP, this is a dark and disturbing story but perhaps more rooted in the real world than much of his horror genre defining work.

[Bob D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is often considered to be the first true detective story. One can see how it leads to Sherlock Holmes and other stories, including an eccentric investigator and a sidekick servicing as a useful sounding board and narrator.

As a short story, it is mostly quick moving, with a tight plot and without multiple red herrings.

However, there are two places where I think it breaks down a bit, leading to me giving it a 3-star as opposed to 4-star rating.

First, it is heavy into exposition, especially at the beginning. This is unusual for a short story but may be a sign of the times in which it was written: many authors were paid by the word and Poe was not a wealthy man so this could be a reason for that.

The second is a bit more egregious. There is no way, with the clues given, that the reader would have been able to determine the actual culprit. Even when revealed, without giving away any spoilers, it is quite preposterous.

So 3-stars for me, with the strengths being the pacing and introducing us to a detective story, with the offsets being the exposition and the actual outcome.

The detective appears in two additional Poe stories, which I will eventually read, so hoping those are a bit better.

[˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading Edgar Allan Poe for as long as I can remember. I like that his stories can be read in one short sitting because I want to know whodunit 😊 In this story the person narrating befriends a man who is for reasons unknown down on his luck. The two end up renting a broken down old mansion, allow no visitors, and go strolling around town only at night. This short story is interesting from beginning to end. And as for this being my rereading after having read it many moons ago and having read many detective stories by different authors in the years in between, this story is still exceptional and surprising.

[Heather Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giving it 4 stars since it was the first modern detective story, a genre I do love. That said, I did enjoy it, but do not anticipate a reread. I enjoy certain other Poe stories and poems much more than this one.

[Danica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poe sometimes makes me blank out. The wording can be difficult to follow, but it is good once you get the hang of his style. It's an interesting story, and the ending wasn't what I was expecting. Good for those who like Poe's unique style. Short story and worth the read.

[Texy]

I like unexpected ends, but not this one

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

When your sick you read / listen

[Ed Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[vee:) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[John Heinrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the core mystery was compelling and the pacing was done well, but there wasn’t enough foreshadowing for the twist at the ending.

[Olivia Caciuleanu · Rating 2 out of 5]

"It's fine, I'll see myself out"

[Drarex03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esa no me la esperaba

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[hannah ☆⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think poe cheated a little with this one ngl.... still thank u for inventing the detective story great job king

[Rut · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a twist that actually surprised me. Although the middle part was a bit too long. Still I liked this one.

[Rosemary Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have submitted this review after listening to the audio book of this title from within the series set box.

A locked door murder mystery, similar to some Sherlock Holmes works.

[Eden Sakal · Rating 4 out of 5]

monke

[Sarah S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story itself is is super engaging. I loved having Easter eggs to look up and appreciated being brought along as an active participant in his overarching argument.

The singular thing I would change is that I wish more evidence was brought to bear from the beginning. I think there is a way the author could have placed more information on the table without compromising the answer. Instead, Dupin releases clues in a very measured way that unfairly advantages him in questioning elements of the riddle before the reader. For example, I wish the nails and hair had been mentioned previously. I would have had no way of knowing the truth without the intervention of Dupin; However, it would have afforded me the opportunity to see if I myself would have asked similar questions.

While I can see how this exact asymmetry of info could bolster his argument that we ignore the evidence that contradicts with our own axioms, the argument may have been even more effective if all of the evidence was witnessed and simply dismissed.

And selfishly I just really wanted a fair shot at solving the riddle haha.