The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Written by Edgar Allan Poe

Narrated by Kerry Shale

Auguste Dupin, investigator extraordinaire, was the remarkable creation of Edgar Allan Poe. Written in the 1840s, Poe presented the acutely observant, shrewd but idiosyncratic character who, with his chronicler, provided the inspiration for the more famous Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. Here are the three Dupin stories together on one audiobook release.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Nov 1, 2002
• ISBN: 9789629545598

Edgar Allan Poe

Dan Ariely is James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and Sunday Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions. Ariely's TED talks have over 10 million views; he has 90,000 Twitter followers; and probably the second most famous Behavioural Economist in the World after Daniel Kahneman.

Reviews for The Murders in the Rue Morgue

[kaethe_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't recall exactly when I first read this (sometime in late elementary/middle school), but it certainly made an impact. I still consider Poe one of my favorite mystery writers.

[marsap_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A collection of Poe’s detective stories featuring the fictional C. Auguste Dupin. These stories are considered to be important early forerunners of the modern detective story. The most famous is the Murder on the Rue Morgue—basically a locked roomed murder mystery. Dupin can extrapolate specific conclusions about people based on the smallest piece of evidence, like a ribbon. Though there are similarities between Sherlock Holmes and Dupin--Dupin isn't a know-it-all. He never claims to have facts--he makes it very clear he's guessing, and his guesses just happen to be correct most of the time. The other two stories of this series, Mystery of Marie Rogêt and The Purloined Letter, both feature Dupin and additional mysteries—though only the Purloined Letter matches the enjoyment of the Rue Morgue. Not my favorite Poe stories—but still enjoyable. 3 ½ out of 5 stars.

[thornton37814 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This work by Poe is often described as the first mystery. With such a distinction, it is an important work to revisit from time to time, even if its plot is not as fully developed as later efforts, because of its influence on masters of the mystery genre such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I remember reading this one back in high school and also in university. At the time, I was disappointed in it. As I read it this time, knowing the outcome, I think I appreciated it more because I found myself seeking the earlier hints which would lead to the crime's resolution. While I believe many questions remain unanswered regarding the sailor's role, I know I'm bringing my 21st century mindset to that question by envisioning lawsuits and other charges relating to harboring an orangutan in one's apartment. The use of deductive reasoning is the important contribution of this classic work which is probably appreciated most when it is re-read and studied for that reason.

[maydacat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This stort story by Poe is considered to be the first detective story and has surely influenced other authors of such tales. It was the seemingly impossible scenario: two murdered women, one in a back yard and the other in a room locked from the inside. The murders are especially gory and violent. Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin is intrigued by the murders, and though the general concensus is that the situation is impossible, he believes that once the impossible is eliminated, whatever is left, though improbable, is the answer. Following Dupin’s thought process as he sifts through the information is an interesting study in the workings of a detective’s mind.

[norabelle414 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Two women are found murdered in a locked apartment in Paris, and none of the witnesses can agree on what they heard. A man named Auguste Dupin examines each clue methodically, and comes up with a most unusual solution to the mystery.This is often credited with being the first detective story. The first section of the book is devoted to Dupin explaining how he uses deductive reasoning (at the time called ratiocination) to figure things out, and it's very tedious. The recounting of the crime scene and accompanying investigation are somewhat interesting. However, I think the solution is a bit too convenient and I don't think there's any way Dupin could actually have deduced it. Plus, if the sailor saw his orangutan murder two people, and then he ran away from the crime scene, why would he answer an advertisement asking if anyone had lost an orangutan?? I do find it interesting that the sailor is not held responsible for the orangutan's actions, though. That certainly would not be the case today. This is an important story to understand the history of the detective genre, but it's not actually that enjoyable to read.I listened to the audiobook read by David Case. I'm not sure if it was the audio quality or the narrator's voice, but I didn't care for it. I was considering listening to more of the stories in this audio collection but I think I'll pass.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe is a novella that was originally published in 1841. Today this story is mostly admired for its’ historic value as it is considered the first modern detective story. The main character, C. Auguste Dupin solves the brutal murder of two women in Paris. Poe has his detective display many of the traits that become literary conventions in many of the detectives that were to follow, including Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. The idea that the detective has great analytical talents, is exceptionally brilliant and has a personal friend do the narration are all plot points that were introduced in this story. Although the language is rather dated, this is a fascinating story and well worth a quick read.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This compilation includes Poe's three Auguste Dupin stories rounded off with a non-Dupin story involving a mysterious murder. Even though I'm pretty sure I hadn't previously read any of the stories, I was familiar with the plots of the Dupin stories from adaptations, cultural references, etc.Once you know the solution of “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, it's hard to forget it as you read/listen. Dupin's endless description of his reasoning process is then more tedious than suspenseful. “The Mystery of Marie Roget” is even worse. After listening to an hour's worth of Dupin's inferences about the case, I thought I had missed his solution. I found a copy online to check what I'd missed and discovered I hadn't missed anything. The story (based on a real-life unsolved murder) stops abruptly without reaching a satisfactory conclusion.“The Purloined Letter” is the most successful of the three Dupin stories. It's certainly the shortest, and thus it doesn't suffer as much from Dupin's long-winded monologues. The plot is both simple and clever. I also enjoyed “Thou Art the Man”, a non-Dupin story about the mysterious disappearance and death of a wealthy man that ends with an interesting twist.I couldn't help comparing Dupin with Sherlock Holmes since their characters are so similar. I think the Holmes stories work better because of Dr. Watson. Neither Dupin nor Holmes are particularly personable, but Watson provides readers with a sympathetic character.

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The detective at the centre of this mystery, Auguste Dupin, was one of the inspirations for Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Dupin here uses the techniques of eliminating the impossible and arriving at a conclusion that, however improbable, must be the truth. But it felt more long winded here, and we didn't get to know Dupin at all. Indeed much of this felt more like an analytical essay than a story. 3.5/5

[Rose Derogene · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome and well read. i have been listening to Edgar Allan Poe"s stories just recently, and now i'm hooked.

[isabelx_21 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Penguin 60s mini-book.I've read and enjoyed this story of "a gruesome crime and the birth of a super-sleuth" before.

[sayakaa_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

it was sad story. i did not like the ending.

[orange_suspense · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Murders in the Rue MorgueCamille L’Espanaye’s face is mutilated and her body is shoved and squeezed up into the chimney and her mother lies beaten black and blue, headless and with most of her bones crushed on the floor. The doors and windows are locked from the inside and there is no clue who has done these brutal murders.It’s for Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin to analyse all the facts given by the Gazette des Tribunaux (including the statements from the witnesses) and a short visist to the murder scene itself to deduct what must have happened and to solve this highly unusual crime.I was surprised by the first of the three short stories including Dupin for it really is one of the first examples of the detective fiction genre. Even though some deductions seem a bit far fetched, the skills of Poe constructing the plot and Dupin deducting from the facts are great and highly entertaining. With the Dupin tales read you will discover more than one similarity between the great detectives that followed the lead of Poe’s eccentric character and its methods. I’m very curious if the other two novels are equally good.The Mystery of Marie RogêtThe second tale of Poe’s Dupin, The Mystery of Marie Rogêt, has its roots in the the real murder of Mary Rogers in New York back in the time. As far as I know the murder of Mary Rogers is still unsolved and so Poe’s narrative is first of all fiction, but also investigates the real crime (translocated to Paris). And coming to the conclusions Dupin draws, it seems highly possible that Poe/Dupin wasn’t so wrong at all.In comparison to the first novel, the character of Dupin is stripped down to the bare essentials of analysing and deducting. It seems that Dupin is some sort of ghost that gives lenghthy interpretations of newspaper articles and minute analysis of the possible context of the crime. I also had the feeling that some passages could have been a bit shorter for they are really stretched, maybe uneccessaryso (e.g. the analysis of bodies thrown into water). On the other hand those passages give the real Dupin and let you participate in his train of thought.I don’t know if I liked The Muders in the Rue Morgue a bit better concerning the overall plot, but The Mystery of Marie Rogêt is clearly more analytical and therefore an example of pure detective work (even though more in the style of Poirot than Holmes) which will finally become on of the cornerstones of the detective fiction genre.The Purloined Letter“The Purloined Letter Approach” a.k.a. “Hiding in plain view” is a method of hiding things named after the thrid and final Dupin tale. The lifeless charcter of Dupin from The Myster of Marie Rogêt was drawn using a bit more color this time. Dupin has to find out where an important document is concealed that is used for blackmailing. The police, having searched everything everywhere, is clueless of its whereabouts and again Dupin has to use his deducing mind to find the answer.Even if the atmosphere of the story is really good with Dupin and the narrator sitting in Dupin’s rooms endlessly smoking their pipes and the good idea of hiding the document in plain sight (which was new then), I think The Purloined Letter is more an example to show the differences between police work and deduction than a entertaining story. I don’t think it is bad, not at all, but Poe’s competitor is he himself and The Mysster of Marie Rogêt and The Murders in the Rue Morgue were more entertaining as The Purloined Letter. But as a piece of high importance for the developing of the detective fiction genre nobody can seriously outstrip the relevance of Dupin’s third case.This collection of the three Dupin tales comes with a short introduction and text excerpts from the predecessors of Dupin himself (being Voltair’s Zadig, Vicocq’s Vicocq and Leggett’s Buckhorn). I think this little book is really worth owning for it gives three outstandingly interesting Poe texts and with the excerpts a nice guide for further reading.

[katieloucks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I just skimmed this - how could he have known all of it?

[doskoipanda · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Poe's work itself is 5 stars, no question. But this edition would benefit from some footnotes/annotations for some of the more obscure things and the French phrases, rather than the additional material and the "reader's circle" questions/discussions, particularly for someone not familiar with the early 1800s.

[wilsonknut · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is considered, if not the first, one of the first detective stories that defined the genre. Dupin is supposedly the model for Sherlock Holmes. Poe's description of the murder scene is surprisingly horrific for the time period. If you don't know how this who-done-it ends, it may surprise you. Read this and then watch an episode of CSI. You will see the formula still in place over a hundred years later.