The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Modern Library Classics)

Edgar Allan Poe is a mainstay of American literature studies, particularly for high school and college survey courses, but it is three of his seventy-two short stories that retain broader interest and are variously credited with inventing detective fiction and influencing the development of 19th century criminology. The three stories featuring Poe's Parisian detective Auguste Dupin, produced 1841 - 1844, are conveniently collected in this edition that comes with some bonus features not easily found elsewhere as well as suggested questions for book clubs.The three stories are "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Murder of Marie Roget" and "The Purloined Letter." For someone who burned through the Poe canon a few decades ago, the return to reading him in this collection was a fresh pleasure. He really does lay out the principles and conventions of detective fiction that have been well honored into the 21st century, not only on the page but now the screen as well. Recent nonfiction books, "The Beautiful Cigar Girl," about the case that inspired "Marie Roget," and "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher" cite Poe's founding contributions to fiction, criminology and the rise of popular "detective fever." Editor Matthew Pearl, author of the novel "The Poe Shadow," offers a so-so critical introduction but outdoes himself in digging up three precursors that may have been among Poe's own reading. The first is a chapter from Voltaire's "Zadig," featuring a character's observant powers that solve a crime, but this being Voltaire, all that virtue gets him in trouble. The second is an excerpt from the memoir of Eugene-Francois Vidocq, who was something of a French domestic spy. The last is a selection from William Leggett's 1829 "Tales and Sketches," a tale of justice vs. truth on the American frontier . Leggett is visible at best these days as a footnote and only his political writings remain available in print, so kudos to Pearl for finding this.None of these precursors took the notions of problem solving to the philosophical and psychological depths Poe did. He really does earn the mantle of genre patriarch. In the parade of fictional detectives who follow, from Sherlock Holmes to Gil Grissom, you can see the Poe in these stories shining through.

These three stories were awful. Long boring monologues with little suspense and the great reveal often buried in the monotony. I can’t believe that the man who wrote The Tell-Tale Heart wrote this. It seems like a first draft. Like Go Set a Watchman compared to the masterpiece that is To Kill a Mockingbird

an action packed read

Great shape. Thank you.

I buy most of my books from Amazon. Although, there have been times were it appears I am getting less then first quality, even though I thought I was ordering a book unused by others. I have made no complaints so far, because the overall performance has been to my satisfaction.

This was the beginning of the Crime Detective genre and you can see this as a 'Sherlock Holmes' prequel

Exactly what I expected with super quick shipping!

Bought for a required class. Always have loved Poe's work. This is well worth the read.

Considered the first police procedural murder mystery. Hint - the butler didn't do it.