Classic Lit: Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Part 2: Tales of Detection

I did not know Edgar Allan Poe is credited as one of the earliest writers of detective stories. His character Dupin, has a strong resemblance to the most well-known detective in literature: Sherlock Holmes. The Barnes & Noble version has four of these near novella length stories that turned out to be quite uneven.

The first impression of these stories is that they are rough in comparison to where the genre went decades later. Poe is long-winded in his explanations and half the stories have underwhelming big reveals. While the twists are certainly there, they aren’t as exciting in their execution in comparison to late 19th and 20th century stories. Of course, any early writer in a non-existent genre is expected to be a little rough in their proto-literature. After all, he had no examples to draw from.

The Mystery of Marie Rogêt is a battle of deduction between newspapers in the genius detective character Dupin. There are accounts of the working theory of the police but largely the detectives at work are amateurs. A woman’s body is found in the Sienne with blunt-force trauma. She had been missing for weeks. Her last known whereabouts were in a well-populated area of Paris among people who knew and recognized her. So, how did she disappear? Who killed her? and how did no one find her body for so long?

1853 illustration for "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt"

This story is heavily loaded with exposition and has what could only be described as a soft ending. It is a good mystery but Poe’s desire to dig into minutiae and knock down the straw man theories of the press really weren’t compelling. I start with this as it is the weakest and can be skipped.

For its role in literary canon and influence, it is likely this story is simply much more clever, complex, and nuanced than other stories of its time. Indeed, Poe’s mysteries are unpredictable.

The Gold-Bug is a drawn out treasure-hunt in the lowlands near Charleston. A man convinces his friend to help dig for treasure at a location inspired by an extraordinary bug that appears to be painted in gold, or actually made of gold. Here again, the treasure hunt and exposition of how the hunter figured out the location of the treasure is painfully long.

It is intricate, clever, and certainly makes the man’s discovery all the more impressive. At the end, the man speculates that the person who buried likely killed everyone who helped him hide it there ensuring only he knew where to find it. The implied threat is that he is considering killing the two men who helped him find and recover it.

The Purloined Letter has a cleaner explanation and a great reveal. While discussing the case of a missing letter with salacious secrets about a nobleman, Dupin asks if there’s a reward for whoever finds the letter. When the constable agrees, Dupin miraculously produces the letter on the spot, thereupon explaining how he discovered its hiding place and recovered it. An amusing mystery with a great ending, this one shines through in some of the moments in Sherlock Holmes stories.

Source: https://poemuseum.org/the-murders-in-the-rue-morgue/

The Murders in the Rue Morgue is one that many have heard about eve if they’ve never read Poe. It follows the mysterious and violent murder of two women. Bystanders hear the screams and try to break in to stop whatever is happening but are too late. Dupin is able to discover how the killer or killers manage to flee the house without being seen by the bystanders, and also explain how the women were murdered so viciously. It is dark, violent, and has a bizarre ending.

I am not aware of other detective stories like this being published prior to Poe. It is fair to say, if they did exist, none influenced later writers the way Poe did. It is clear Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and other later gothic writers were inspired and adored Poe’s work. Like his tales of the macabre, his command of the English language is remarkable. His descriptions are graphic, not concerned with offending the sensibilities of readers.

It’s graphic nature may be the greatest quality of gothic fiction. It is unafraid to depict the grotesqueries of human nature and the world. Plagues, violence, sadism and death are all realities of the world and always will be. Their depictions create discomfort and illicit feelings of fear. Those with more conservative sensibilities fear such depictions may excite and inspire the darkest sides of our nature and encourage acts of depravity.

In my experience, this fear is unfounded. To take the converse, a person shielded from reality for too long may react negatively, even violently, when they are exposed to it far too late in life. Death is a part of life. Evil exists and should be understood, not censored to deny the truth.

Each one of us has the potential to do great evil.

There might be some more posts on Edgar Allan Poe, to dig a little deeper into a single story or tiny set of story rather than going over a whole section of the Barnes & Noble Collection. It was truly a pleasure to read these classic works. Some of definitely left a permanent impression.