Poe's “Murders in the Rue Morgue” Is Published
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," published on April 23, 1841, in Graham's Lady's and Gentleman’s Magazine, is celebrated as the world’s first detective story, which established a foundational genre in popular fiction. Set in Paris, the narrative revolves around the brutal murders of two women, leaving the police baffled and the public terrified. The story introduces C. Auguste Dupin, an amateur detective who employs keen deductive reasoning to unravel the mystery, a hallmark of the genre that emphasizes logical problem-solving. Poe's innovative use of a narrative framework, where an admiring but less intelligent friend recounts the detective's exploits, became a standard trope in detective fiction. At the time of its publication, the term "detective" was not widely used; Poe referred to his work as a "tale of ratiocination." The story's success led to further adventures featuring Dupin, influencing a wave of authors who created their own detectives, including iconic figures like Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. Over the years, the detective genre has evolved, with stories often expanding into full-length novels that captivate audiences worldwide.
Poe's “Murders in the Rue Morgue” Is Published
Poe's “Murders in the Rue Morgue” Is Published
The April 23, 1841, issue of Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine, published in the United States, included a remarkable short story: “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” by Edgar Allan Poe. The author, in his late thirties, was already gaining a reputation as a master of the macabre, with such tales as “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839), but this was something different. It was in fact the world's first detective story, and it created a genre that has become a staple of popular fiction.
In “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” two women are found brutally slain in circumstances that frighten the public and mystify the Paris police. A brilliant amateur, C. Auguste Dupin, takes up the case, and by ingenious deduction arrives at a coherent explanation of events, in which every bizarre clue suddenly makes sense. Having dispelled the mystery of the slayings, he identifies the killer. Dupin's feat is narrated by an admiring but less than brilliant friend, a role that has become an essential element of the genre.
At the time Poe wrote his story, the word “detective” was not even in common usage. Poe called his work “a tale of ratiocination,” meaning logical deductive reasoning. This is at the heart of the genre: in a classic detective story, the crime presents a puzzle that at first appears insoluble, but the solution can and will be found by bold and rigorous thinking, using only the evidence at hand. Typically, there is a single protagonist who represents the interests of justice (but is more likely to be a gifted eccentric than a police officer). This person's skill and intelligence lead to the solution of the mystery.
“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” was popular with readers, so Poe brought Dupin back in “The Mystery of Marie Roget” (1842–43), another murder tale, and “The Purloined Letter” (1844), which concerns blackmail in high places. Other authors became interested in the form and experimented with characters of their own. Subsequent fictional detectives include the immortal Sherlock Holmes, introduced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in “A Study in Scarlet” (1887), and such 20th-century sleuths as Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe. Over time the genre has expanded: Nowadays a detective story is likely to be a full-length novel—and a good one is also likely tobe abest-seller.