The Murders In The Rue Morgue And The Purloined... Apr 2026

Both (1841) and " The Purloined Letter " (1844) are cornerstone works of detective fiction by Edgar Allan Poe . They feature the brilliant Parisian amateur sleuth, C. Auguste Dupin , who uses a process Poe called " ratiocination "—a combination of rigorous logic and psychological intuition—to solve crimes that baffle the police. 1. The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Two women, a mother and daughter, are found brutally murdered in a fourth-floor room that was locked from the inside. The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Purloined...

For a deep dive into character analysis and plot, check out the Litcharts Analysis for Poe's Stories . 2. The Purloined Letter Both (1841) and " The Purloined Letter "

Dupin deduces that the killer was an escaped Ourang-Outang (orangutan) that had entered through a window with a spring-loaded sash. this tale established many genre conventions

Considered the first modern detective story, this tale established many genre conventions, including the "locked-room mystery" and the brilliant detective paired with a loyal narrator friend.