The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales (Modern Library Classics)

Book Description

Includes The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Rogêt, and The Purloined Letter

Between 1841 and 1844, Edgar Allan Poe invented the genre of detective fiction with three mesmerizing stories of a young French eccentric named C. Auguste Dupin. Introducing to literature the concept of applying reason to solving crime, these tales brought Poe fame and fortune to live on. Years later, Dorothy Sayers would describe “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” as “almost a complete manual of detective theory and practice.” Indeed, Poe’s short mysteries inspired the creation of countless literary sleuths, among them Sherlock Holmes. Today, the Dupin stories still stand out as unique, utterly engrossing page-turners.
This Modern Library edition reproduces the definitive texts of the three tales. It includes an enlightening Introduction by novelist Matthew Pearl and an Appendix, “The Earliest Detectives.”

Customer Reviews:

Murders and letters.......2006-07-30

Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his poetry ("Quoth the raven...") and his tales of the macabre. But he has a lesser-known claim to fame -- the prototypical detective stories, predating Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

Though only three stories about C. Auguste Dupin were written, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales" compiles all three of them, with their baffling answers and armchair detection. These weren't the first detective tales, but they set the mold for the mysteries that followed.

We're introduced to Dupin through his pal/roommate, in "Murders in the Rue Morgue." He's impoverished but of an old family, and lives in a crumbling, gothic mansion full of his books. But his mind is sharper than anyone around him, based on the logical process of "ratiocination."

In this mystery, Dupin learns of a bizarre mystery, where an apartment was found almost destroyed but nothing was stolen. An old lady is found outside with her head hacked off with a razor, and her daughter is found throttled and stuffed upside-down in a chimney, with locks of her hair pulled out. No motive, and no suspects. The police are baffled -- but Dupin isn't.

Based on a real crime, "The Mystery of Marie Roget" opens with the death of a popular young woman, who is later found floating in the river. By reading different newspaper reports, Dupin chronicles the peculiarities of the crime, and debunks the many assumptions that were made about the crime -- how many assailants, where, when, and so on.

"The Purloined Letter" has a somewhat less gruesome crime. The prefect of police is meeting with Dupin, with a very important matter to discuss -- a compromising letter of the Queen's was stolen in front of her eyes, and now the Minister is blackmailing her with it. The police have searched the Minister's apartment from top to bottom, but there's no sign of the letter. Only Dupin knows where to find it.

These stories are are not only the roots of detective fiction, but staggeringly good reads as well. Poe -- who reportedly made Dupin the sort of logical, cool person he wanted to be -- crammed a whole novel's worth of detecting into each short story, and made even the weirdest answers (a monkey?) seem plausible.

Unlike Poe's other works, these are made up mostly of deduction and dialogue, though Poe does get in some wonderful lines about the shared mansion ("... in a style which suited the rather fantastic gloom of our common temper, a time-eaten and grotesque mansion"). And while the dialogue seems rather dry at first, as it unfolds, the intricacies of each bizarre plot become clear.

You could say that the one flaw of these stories is that they don't offer much insight into the characters. We don't know much about Dupin, except that he's an impoverished noble with a vast collection of books. But the stories are really about Dupin's logical deductions rather than the character himself, and how any baffling case could be solved if you just had enough clues and a clear head.

The Dupin Tales are a remarkable work of detective fiction, the early whodunnits, and are among Poe's best works of fiction. Definitely a must-read.

Greatest mysteries ever.......2006-06-22

I've read "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter", but have yet to read "The Mystery of Marie Roget". I WILL be buying this book.
I can safely say that "...Rue Morgue" is the first detective story ever. Without it there'd be no Sherlock Holmes. Poe's eye for logic and detail is astounding. Unfortunately, I knew who committed the Rue Morgue murders before reading the story, but it was still suspenseful and BELIEVABLE.
"The Purloined Letter" is equally impressive. Again Poe's meticulousness makes this story airtight. He left no stone unturned in writing it.
Cannot wait to read "...Marie Roget".
If you love mysteries, buy this. It's where it all began.

Murders in the Rue Morgue (Mystery Rummy, Case No. 2)

Average customer rating:

Least satisfying of the mystery rummy games
Murder and mayhem and rummy!

Murders in the Rue Morgue (Mystery Rummy, Case No. 2)
Mike Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: U.S. Games Systems
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Cards

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ASIN: 1572812060

Book Description

The second in our series of Mystery Rummy card games, Murders in the Rue Morgue takes players deep into the mid of Edgar Allan Poe and a world of mystery and intrigue. There's no telling who, if anyone, will prove the case! Includes a booklet of instructions. For 2-4 players, ages 10 to adult. Cards measure 2-1/2" x 3-1/2".

Customer Reviews:

Least satisfying of the mystery rummy games.......2005-08-01

For those unfamiliar with the Mystery Rummy games, the game is played using a special set of cards. The idea is to build melds (as in regular rummy), but game play is affected by a special set of cards that allow you to draw extra cards from the deck, score extra points, or allow you to retrieve cards from the discard pile. Each of the Mystery Rummy games uses slightly different mechanics and is based on a different mystery.

In terms of game play, Rue Morgue is the weakest of the 4 games. There are few chances for strategic interaction, as the players can do little to affect their own melds or their opponents.

Rue Morgue is also the simplest of the mystery rummy games (not that any of them are hard to grasp after a few games). Even so, Mystery Rummy 4 - Al Capone offers a similar complexity, but much better game play. Mystery Rummy 3 - Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde is slightly more complicated, but considerably more fun either than Rue Morgue or Al Capone, and is almost as good as the original Mystery Rummy 1 - Jack the Rippper. The original Mystery Rummy 1 - Jack the Ripper is the most complicated of the games, but is also the best.

Murder and mayhem and rummy!.......2003-11-01

The second installment of the Mystery Rummy series focuses on Edgar Alan Poe's classic MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE. For those of you who haven't read the short story, this card game will spoil the outcome and this review is also a spoiler for the story.

The players are investigating the grissly murders of two women. It has been determined that the murderer was an orangutan. The mystery is in collecting enough evidence to prove the orangutan did it.

The game mechanics are similar to those of the first mystery rummy game, Jack the Ripper. Players try to form melds (three or more of a kind) of evidence cards. Whenever a meld is formed a card is taken from the top of the draw deck and placed under the orangutan card. This is important because at the end of the hand, whichever player went out first gets to take the cards under the orangutan and use them, if possible, to score additional points. There are a number of ways to get bonus points, as well. For example, each evidence card set has a complimentary evidence card set. These sets are of similar color (dark green and light green) to easily match them up. If a player plays complimentary evidence melds, they earn bonus points.

This is a great game to play with two people, though it's more challenging with three or four. I highly recommend this game for a quiet evening of mysterious fun!

Murder at Beechlands (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)
Average customer rating:

It is just crying to be used as a Hollywood script

Murder at Beechlands (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)
Maureen Sarsfield
Manufacturer: Rue Morgue Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0915230569

Customer Reviews:

It is just crying to be used as a Hollywood script.......2004-01-15

Maureen Sarsfield wrote a total of three books, which were picked up by American publishers, in the 1940's. Two of them are murder mysteries starring Scotland Yard's Inspector Lane Parry, a handsome and undeniably married detective. Murder at Beechlands, the sequel to Murder at Shots Hall (originally called Green December Fills the Graveyard) was originally called A Party for None in England and A Party for Lawty in the United States. Sarsfield's life itself is a bit of a mystery, as no one seems to know what became of her.

Inspector Lane Parry finds himself alone in a raging blizzard after he accidently drove his car into a ditch. He comes upon Beechlands, a hotel filled with what he at first takes to be inmates of a mental institution. But the dead body of Wing Commander Lawton (Lawty) Lawrence appears in the snow, and the hunt is on. Even though the crime is not in Parry's jurisdiction, he realizes he is going to have to keep the "inmates" around until the proper authorities can be called...and the phone lines have been cut to the hotel:

"Two miles there, two miles back. That would mean leaving all these people (and Lawty's body) by themselves, to get up to their own devices and occasions, lawful or unlawful, for at least two hours, by the time he'd done explaining everything to the Ditchit policeman, who was worse than useless, according to Miss Killigrew."

Murder at Beechlands is a cross between an Alfred Hitchcock story, and an Edgar Allen Poe tale. Intensely psychological, each character and each moment of the ungodly long night that follows the murder is filled with lurking, crashing, smashing, and deep fear. Sarsfield does a great job of keeping the reader "in the dark," even as she supplies clues and counter clues for the clever Inspector Parry to sift through. Her characterization is simply wonderful...very nineteen forties, and one could see either Betty Davis or Marilyn Monroe in starring roles.

The Rue Morgue Press has chosen wisely once again with this Maureen Sarsfield thriller. It is just crying to be used as a Hollywood script, but until that day arrives (if it ever does), it simply exists as a genuine mystery told in the original vein of the genre. A great read!

Customer Reviews:

The First Unofficial Detective.......2003-04-20

In these 3 short story, Poe introduces to the world for the first time the way of logical deduction, and applies it to an actual ambiguous case.

He seems to place much importance in mathematics as being the best exercise for analytic reasoning. Similar thing is seen in Doyle's Holmes, for Doyle asserts that Moriarty, the arch enemy of Sherlock Holmes, is in fact a mathematician.

Well aside from that he places much importance on meditation, a habit that is very unfamiliar in most of the world.

In the course of the first story, "The Murders of Rue Morgue," the French detective, Dupin, surprises his companion by interfering in his thoughts, an act that was criticized by Holmes in the novel "A Study in Scarlet," and that was practiced by him in some other short story of his.

The mystery, on the other hand, was a new one, not a simple one, and the deductions of Dupin were very logical and intriguing.

In the second story, "The Mystery of Marie Roget," Poe reconstructs a real crime by merely building up from the newspaper clips he collected over the span of time. He finally solves the mystery in the person of his detective Dupin. Close analysis had showed that the answer provided by Poe was actually the right one.

In the third story, "The Purloined Letter," Dupin solves a very easy mystery that puzzled the police force of paris.

This book is not at the same level of Doyle's writing, it is a little simpler, but is a nice read, though. That might be true because Doyle had based his detective, Holmes, on Dupin, and had actually attained the fame that forced him to dedicate some of his time for his mysteries.

The Youth Hostel Murders (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)
Average customer rating:

A relaxed style that makes this mystery an enjoyable experience.

The Youth Hostel Murders (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)
Glyn Carr
Manufacturer: Rue Morgue Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0915230984

Customer Reviews:

A relaxed style that makes this mystery an enjoyable experience........2007-03-04

Glyn Carr is actually a pseudonym for Showell Styles used for his Abercrombie Lewker mysteries, featuring a Shakespearian actor/mountain climber. Styles' first Lewker mystery, entitled DEATH ON MILESTONE BUTTRESS, which was published in 1951, was such a success that his British publisher Geoffrey Bles, immediately signed him on for more. The net result was fourteen more mysteries, until Styles ran out of ideas. Lewker gets to travel to Switzerland, the Himalayas, Austria, Scandinavia, and Majorca, as well as Cumberland fells, the setting of THE YOUTH HOSTEL MURDERS .

As well as his credentials as a noted Shakespearian actor, Abercrombie Lewker, deceptively short and stout, also served in Department Seven of the Special Commando Branch of British Intelligence during World War II. He and his lovely wife, Georgina are a devoted and playful couple. Georgie calls Lewker Filthy, but not for matters of hygiene. Lewker and Georgie are headed to stay with Sir Walter Haythornthwaite in Birkerdale near Gosforth. Almost at once they begin hearing stories about the place, which eventually will lead Lewker into a murder investigation of two young climbers:

"'Ay.' The landlord, leaning across the bar with a cautious eye on the shadows by the fireplace, spoke in a confidential whisper. 'There's some folk hereabouts says 'twas witchcraft as sent my truck off that road. Coffin's Pike's an evil place, they say-'twas why the lead mines failed. I'm not one to believe in such things, but it's got about as witchcraft made that young fellow fall to his death, too. Old Ben says-'"

Carr/Styles goes to great lengths to describe the mountain village, as well as the art of climbing, in this compelling whodunit. Lewker is an unlikely hero, but his obvious talents and the magnetic force of his personality endear him to the youth hostel where he goes "undercover." Styles' talent for the "red herring" jumps out at the reader. He tucks his murderer so far into the plot that the reader spends an inordinate amount of time guessing and revising guesses as to who and where the murderer lurks. Characters are entertaining; the plot and action are non-stop; and yet there is a relaxed style that makes this mystery an enjoyable experience.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

The Black Coat: A Murder Mystery Comedy (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)

Average customer rating:

Thank you, Rue Morgue Press!

The Black Coat: A Murder Mystery Comedy (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)
Constance Little , and Gwenyth Little
Manufacturer: Rue Morgue Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0915230402

Customer Reviews:

Thank you, Rue Morgue Press!.......2004-06-19

As a librarian I'm always looking for inspiration when ordering books for my branch library. (Anyone can buy a best-seller.) I'd like to think I'm introducing a whole new group of readers to the Little sisters' mysteries. They are wonderfully wacky, creative, and just plain entertaining! After discovering their appeal I promptly ordered every title available and can't wait for Rue Morgue Press (bless them!) to print the rest.

The Mamo Murders (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)

Average customer rating:

The Mamo Murders (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)
Juanita Sheridan
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Oh, Murderer Mine

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Murder Gone Minoan (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)

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Murder Gone Minoan (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)
Clyde B. Clason
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Average customer rating:

A confusing and over-long novel
Overkill
Please don't give me a test on this book
ZZZZZZZ
Overly-contrived potboiler

The Poe Shadow
Matthew Pearl
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0743552652
Release Date: 2006-05-23

Book Description

INCLUDES MATTHEW PEARL'S EXCLUSIVE AUDIO AFTERWORD ON THE TRUTH BEHIND POE'S DEATH!

Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. Everyone seems to accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end -- except for a young Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, an ardent admirer who puts his own career and reputation at risk in a crusade to salvage Poe's.

As Quentin explores the puzzling circumstances and unanswered questions of Poe's demise, he realizes that he must find the one person who can help: the real-life model for Poe's brilliant fictional detective character, C. Augustine Dupin, the hero of ingenious tales of crime and detection. Soon Quentin finds himself enmeshed in sinister machinations involving international political agents and the lost secrets of Poe's final hours, and must himself turn master investigator to escape Poe's grisly fate.

Drawing on original, groundbreaking research, the bestselling author of The Dante Club has once again crossed literary history with sublime craftsmanship and devious twists to create a beautifully detailed, ingeniously plotted tale of suspense.

Customer Reviews:

A confusing and over-long novel.......2007-09-20

This novel reads more like a rough draft than a finished novel. Throughout the book the text contradicts itself frequently - for example: in one section of the book the main character is unable to sit up due to restraints around his neck. Only two sentences later, he sits up. Also, the main character loses consciousness very frequently, and so that action loses all of its drama after it happens a few times.

Overkill.......2007-09-11

Pearl's latest foray into the literary thriller genre (following The Dante Club, which I did not read), revolves around the mysterious real-life death of Edgar Allen Poe. Our guide to mid-19th century Baltimore is wealthy young lawyer Quentin Clark -- a naive idealist and ardent Poe fan in an era where few cared for his macabre writings. The story open with Poe' death, ill-attended funeral, and a spate of ignominious obituaries, which spark Clark to try and clear his name. Alas, the book is far from thrilling, and falls flat on multiple fronts.

First and foremost, Quentin Clark makes for a poor guide and protagonist. His defining characteristic is an obsession for Poe and clearing Poe's name. This is so strong that it leads him to make all manner of improbable social, personal, and professional blunders. Unfortunately, as a motivation, it's never that convincing -- especially considering the serious effect it has on his life. Clark is otherwise totally uninteresting, and even somewhat annoying in his constant indignation. Secondly, while Pearl has done an admirable job of writing in the style of the period (the story is presented as a text written by Clark), the style of the period makes for clunky reading. It's stilted and mannered in a way that unfortunately only accentuates another big flaw -- the achingly slow pace of the story.

The bulk of the story involves Clark trying to track down the real-life inspiration for Poe's legendary detective, C. Auguste Dupin, and their joint efforts in Baltimore to learn the truth as to how Poe ended up delirious in a Baltimore tavern when he was supposed to be in Philadelphia. Pearl does a very nice job of bringing Baltimore to life, and there's clearly a lot of research behind the story. However, writing a novel to outline a possible scenario for what happened to Poe seems like overkill. The new evidence Pearl has uncovered is best suited to an essay or scholarly journal, and while weaving a novel around a few tidbit is certainly impressive in and of itself, the result is a clunky work that's only average at best.

Please don't give me a test on this book.......2007-09-10

Because I will fail it. I kept reading it and couldn't really begin to tell you what happened. The language is good and it's clearly well researched, but the plot goes into some minutiae that was impossible to follow. Very tedious and something was just wrong with it. It started off well and I liked it at first, but the whole Dupin/Duponte who's who just drifted off into some kind of pettiness and smallness that only Pearl could have followed or outlined. Reading this book was like watching someone with OCD organize a box of used staples with a pair of tiny tweezers. Impossible to follow and you're just observing someone who may or may not be doing a brilliant job as you would never know either way. A great idea for a book, but it seems like Pearl couldn't make a decision on all of the information he found in his research and just had to include all of it, making the plot extraordinarily intricate and impenetrable.

ZZZZZZZ.......2007-09-04

This novel was very tedious reading.
Did you complete it ?
Yes.
Why?
I kept thinking it'd get better...
Lame.
Yeah, but other books have gotten better toward the last third.
But not this one?
No.
What specifically did you not like?
A mystery not really solved; a period piece not giving us much descriptive context; and a main character who might have carried a hobby into an obsession, and nearly ruining his life, without giving us an understanding of why he couldn't have kept his business and his personal life in order while still uncovering what he did. And it's too long.
Well, why did you give it one star?
I couldn't give it less.

Overly-contrived potboiler.......2007-08-12

I didn't find this book very interesting; in fact, I didn't finish it. It is a work of fiction, a period piece, in which a young lawyer in Baltimore, one Quentin Clark, attends Edgar Allan Poe's funeral in that city (Poe died there in mysterious circumstances on October 7, 1849, at age 40). Afterward, Clark travels to Paris to look up C. Auguste Dupin, the father of all fictional private detectives, introduced to the world by Poe. Clark's purpose for this visit is an attempt to put together the true story of Poe's demise.

The book should have interested me because I have read much Poe, I like mystery stories, and much of it takes place in Baltimore (although around 1849), in a suburb of which I have lived for many years. But somehow it didn't. For me, it was an overly-contrived potboiler.

Average customer rating:

The very beginning of the mystery genre!

THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE
Edgar allen Poe
Manufacturer: The Reader's League of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000EVS1EW

Product Description

The Murders in the Rue Morgue and Other Stories

Customer Reviews:

The very beginning of the mystery genre!.......2007-09-25

In the Murders in the Rue Morgue we are introduced to the character of Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin, a Parisian gentleman with a sharpened mind that allows him to deduce information unavailable to the casual observer. When a pair of ghastly murders are committed in the Rue Morgue, Dupin applies his intellect and powers of observation to solve the seemingly inexplicable deaths.

First published in 1841, this book marks the very beginning of the mystery genre. That's right, 46 years before Sherlock Holmes began his career, M. Dupin was solving crimes that left the police baffled! Overall, I found this book to be very interesting - interesting for its historical value and interesting to read. I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it!

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