The Murders of Rue Morgue

The Murders of Rue Morgue

Author – Edgar Allan Poe

Publisher – Graham’s magazine

Date – 1841

Stars – 5/5

Review

This week I am reviewing yet another crime mystery classic.  I must pay homage to Sim’s “The Dead Witness” again for bringing this story to my attention and I promise I won’t just keep wittering on about stories found within his masterpiece (if you’ve not read “The Dead Witness”, it is a fantastic compendium of detective stories with analytic commentary – a must read for lovers of the genre).

After L- and, before Holmes, there was Dupin.  Certainly, the prototype for the Holmes and Watson camaraderie, the Murders of Rue Morgue is narrated from a friend’s point of view.  Our narrator is well acquainted with Dupin but his own identity is never revealed. Just like many of our favourite Sherlockian jaunts, we are teased throughout the story until a big reveal by our detective at the end.

The unnamed narrator and Dupin read about a horrific double murder and, of course, they must enquire. A mother found decapitated in the back yard with her daughter’s corpse stuffed into the chimney, the story sets out to a dramatic start.  I don’t think anyone who has never read this story would be able to anticipate the conclusion.  Somewhat farfetched but good fun nonetheless, the reader is left in the dark until the very end. 

My only bugbear with this story is the depiction of the perpetrator who (I won’t give anything away) would know no better and a report of such chaos has never occurred in the real world. Nevertheless, Poe writes an interesting story with lots of reasoned deduction and commentary from Dupin which keeps readers very much entertained.  It is hard to read this story without substituting Dupin and his narrator for our more well-known characters.  Not to degrade any of Conan Doyle’s work, as I am an avid fan, it is a shame that not as many people have read Poe.  Poe wrote fewer stories and his characters are not as eclectic as Doyle’s but they deserve some recognition at least. 

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