A review by alba_marie
The Murders in the Rue Morgue, by Edgar Allan Poe
4.0
{4 Stars}
"I did not stop looking for an answer, however, because I knew that what did not seem possible must be proved possible."
This quote is eerily similar to Sherlock Holmes famous quote "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” In fact, you can see the effect that the "amateur detective" August Dupin has on Sherlock Holmes, the world-famous detective who first appeared in 1887, more than 40 years after Poe's short story. An armchair detective, the bumbling policemen, wild and bizarre puzzles, a locked room mystery, the all-knowing, hyper-perceptive detective accompanied by his less-intelligent friend/audience stand-in .... these are all elements of this famous short story, often crowned as the first detective story (with Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, 1868, often called the first detective novel). Poe's writings and characters had a profound impact on Arthur Conan Doyle, who in turn, greatly impacted the genre, inspiring more crime stories before the genre exploded in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The story itself might not be the most amazing crime story of all time, and it would be near impossible for the audience to solve it themselves as key elements are not shared with the reader, but it is amusing enough, and the impact it had on the genre is impossible to ignore.
"I did not stop looking for an answer, however, because I knew that what did not seem possible must be proved possible."
This quote is eerily similar to Sherlock Holmes famous quote "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” In fact, you can see the effect that the "amateur detective" August Dupin has on Sherlock Holmes, the world-famous detective who first appeared in 1887, more than 40 years after Poe's short story. An armchair detective, the bumbling policemen, wild and bizarre puzzles, a locked room mystery, the all-knowing, hyper-perceptive detective accompanied by his less-intelligent friend/audience stand-in .... these are all elements of this famous short story, often crowned as the first detective story (with Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, 1868, often called the first detective novel). Poe's writings and characters had a profound impact on Arthur Conan Doyle, who in turn, greatly impacted the genre, inspiring more crime stories before the genre exploded in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The story itself might not be the most amazing crime story of all time, and it would be near impossible for the audience to solve it themselves as key elements are not shared with the reader, but it is amusing enough, and the impact it had on the genre is impossible to ignore.