When Edgar Allen Poe wrote the first modern detective story in history, the word “detective” wasn’t even in the dictionary yet.
In other words, the word didn’t exist. Poe described the story as a “a tale of ratiocination.”
Between you and me, I never heard of the word “ratiocination” before. It’s pronounced [rah-tee-oh-sin-NAY-shun] and roughly translates to an activity or process of reasoning. Which pretty much defines a detective story.
Poe wrote “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” in longhand on parchment paper, and Graham’s magazine published the strory in 1841.
George Rex Graham founded the magazine in Philadelphia and published periodicals from 1841 to 1858. The magazine featured short stories, critical reviews, music, and fashion.
Graham aimed his magazine at both men and women, and he paid $5 per page of copy.
It was easy for Poe to get the story published. He was an editor at the magazine, and Graham paid him a handsome commission of $56.
In a note of comparison & contrast, Poe received $9 for the publication of “The Raven.”
In addition to being the first detective story in history, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” was also the first “locked room” mystery in history.
So, you say, what is a “locked room” mystery?
In a locked room mystery, the writer presents the reader with a puzzle.
Like this, a murder’s been committed, and the victim’s body is discovered in a locked room, but the killer’s not in the room.
Moreover, it doesn’t look like anyone could’ve entered the room to commit the murder, or have fled the scene of the crime without being seen by witnesses.
But that’s exactly what happened.
So how did it happen?
That’s where the detective, or you as the reader, must wrack your brain trying to figure out what happened.
Poe reveals hints and clues in drips and drabs. And as you continue reading, you start formulating hunches, and start looking for that next drip to see if you’re on the right track.
Here comes another.
If you’re wrong, reconsider. If you’re right, pat yourself on the back and eagerly await the next missing piece.
At that point, you’re hooked and want to solve the crime before Poe’s detective solves it for you. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the world of crime fiction. Welcome to the world of mental stimulation. Crime fiction makes you think. Crime fiction fine-tunes your thought-processing system. Crime fiction makes you smarter.
Without giving away too much, here’s the plot:
First, the story takes place in Paris at a time when, because of urban development, major crime is on the rise.
Next, neighbors find a mother’s body in a yard behind her house. She suffered multiple broken bones and her throat’s been slashed so deeply that her head falls off when they move her body.
And finally, they find her daughter strangled to death, stuffed inside a chimney, upside-down, inside a room on the fourth floor. And, of course, the door’s locked from the inside.
C. Auguste Dupin is Poe’s detective. But, as in many traditional detective stories, Dupin is neither a cop nor a detective. He’s a private citizen who finds himself somehow involved. And his techniques in solving these murders molded the model for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, and many others that follow to this day.
Poe described the story’s theme as “the exercise of ingenuity in detecting a murderer.” He originally called it “The Murders in the Rue Trianon,” but changed the title because the word “morgue” triggered an association with death.
When I started writing this, I didn’t know that Poe’s short story became a movie. But, yes, it has. In fact, Hollywood not only produced one “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” movie, but it produced four “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” movies between 1932 and 1986.
Barry Bowe is America’s Best Crime Writer & the author of the classic outlaw biker saga Born to Be Wild. Just click the book cover below to preview the book.
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