Edgar Allan Poe: Detective Tales

After studying 'The Black Cat' and 'The Tell-Tale Heart' by Poe last year, I was looking forward to reading some more of his short stories, and I wasn't disappointed. These two tales that I had to read for my Crime Fiction module, were written in 1841 and 1844 respectively; 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' appearing in the nineteenth century periodical Graham's Magazine - and 'The Purloined Letter' being produced in the literary annual The Gift for 1845 four years later.

'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'

The first tale, 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' is the the first appearance of the reclusive intellectual C. Auguste Dupin, and his side-kick; the unnamed man who narrates the tale. Much in the same vein as Holmes and Watson, these two spend time in each others' company, mediating on the issues of the day, content with living somewhat aside from the rest of society and enjoying their own company.

After hearing about the murders in the Rue morgue, Dupin becomes intensely interested in the case which according to the papers, appears to be unsolvable and offers no clues. Not convinced, Dupin and his side-kick set about investigating the scene of the murder themselves. For the narrator, things are entirely unclear, but as the mystery unfolds and Dupin's marvellous mind works to form its own conclusions, it becomes apparent that he has unravelled the mystery.

With a clever, unexpected ending, I found 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' to be a fascinating and enjoyable read.

3/5.

'The Purloined Letter'

The third of Edgar Allan Poe's detective stories - the second being 'The Mystery of Marie Roget' - sets about its narrative in a completely different manner: from the outset the thief is known to us, and it is not the 'whodunnit' of traditional UK crime fiction, but instead the importance is placed on how Dupin sets about his work.

A letter has been stolen from an important aristocrat, and despite the police's best efforts to turn-over every last inch of the thief's rooms, they can not find what they seek. Somewhat reluctantly, they call in the help of Dupin, and the tale from then on is a story of narrow-mindedness and how the police have struggled because they can not see anything aside from ordinary procedure.

Dupin's thinking is different to that of the police, and as a result he is able to out-think the thief. In this tale, then, we see the idea of the detective having an 'intellectual counterpart' as such; an adversary that in some ways is Dupin's 'match.' Once again this indeed can draw parallels to the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, with the famous adversary Professor Moriarty.

Poe's detective stories then, are often attributed with being the forerunners for today's modern 'detective novel', and we can see why; it is clear that his ideas of the detective and of the investigative techniques he uses, influenced others, and are still present in crime fiction to this day.