This book contains the following stories:
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1841. It is considered one of the earliest examples of detective fiction and features Poe's fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin. Here's a plot summary of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue":
Introduction: The story begins with an unnamed narrator who introduces the reader to C. Auguste Dupin, a brilliant and eccentric Frenchman known for his analytical and deductive abilities. The narrator is a close friend of Dupin and describes his friend's remarkable talents in solving complex mysteries.
The Murders: The main plot of the story revolves around a series of brutal and seemingly inexplicable murders that occur in a house on the Rue Morgue, a street in Paris. The victims are Madame L'Espanaye, a widow, and her daughter, Mademoiselle Camille.
The murders are discovered one morning when neighbors hear a series of loud and violent screams coming from the house. When the police arrive, they find the front door locked and barricaded from the inside, and the windows are also tightly fastened. Upon breaking into the house, they discover the gruesome scene: both women have been brutally murdered, and their bodies are in a horrifying state.
The Investigation: The police are baffled by the case, as there are no witnesses, and it appears that no one could have entered or left the house after the murders. The brutality of the killings also adds to the mystery. The police arrest several witnesses and suspects, but they cannot solve the case.
Dupin's Involvement: Dupin becomes interested in the case and offers his assistance to the police. He examines the evidence at the crime scene, interviews witnesses, and conducts a careful analysis of the facts. Dupin is known for his keen powers of observation and logical reasoning.
The Solution: Through his investigation, Dupin discovers a crucial clue: a tuft of hair found in the hand of one of the victims does not match any human hair but resembles the hair of an escaped orangutan, an exotic and powerful ape. Dupin deduces that the murders were committed by the orangutan, which had entered the apartment through an open window and went on a violent rampage.
Conclusion: With this revelation, Dupin assists the police in capturing the orangutan, which had been hiding in the vicinity. The story ends with Dupin explaining the sequence of events to the police and the narrator, highlighting the power of deductive reasoning in solving seemingly impossible mysteries.
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is often regarded as the first modern detective story, and it set the stage for the development of the detective genre in literature. Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin is considered one of the earliest fictional detectives and a precursor to famous detectives like Sherlock Holmes.
