The Murders in the Rue Morgue: Edgar Allan Poe

The Murders in the Rue Morgue was first published in
Graham's Magazine in 1841. Today, it is considered by many as the first detective story. Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination". C. Auguste Dupin is a Frenchman who decides to solve the mysterious brutal murder of two women in Paris. Numerous witnesses are quoted in the newspaper as having heard a suspect, though the witnesses each think it was a different language. As the first true detective in fiction, the Dupin character established many literary devices which would be used in future fictional detectives including Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Two such devices are a personal friend who serves as narrator, and the final revelation being presented first followed by the reasoning that leads to it.