The Dupin Stories

By: Edgar Allan Poe

Narrated by: Kerry Shale

Length: 4 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.The Dupin Stories include the following:

• "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
• "The Mystery of Marie Roget"
• "The Purloined Letter"

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)2005 Naxos AudioBooks

The first consulting and analytical detective

It's well established that Edgar Allan Poe wrote the first detective stories (the awards for detective stories are named after him), though these are probably lesser known works compared to Poe's "spookier" works such as the Pit and the Pendulum or The Raven. Most people probably know one of the great characters these books inspired though - Sherlock Holmes - and it's clear exactly how much of the form Doyle copied for his Holmes stories (these are narrated by the detective's best friend, with whom he shares an apartment; the detective chooses to solve these crimes as a personal diversion, for the mental fun of it, but is occasionally consulted by the police).

The stories are interesting and full of intriguing analysis - the first is an apparent locked-room mystery, the second is based on an actual (and still unsolved) murder in New York, and the third is a delightful tale of how Dupin solved the problem of a stolen letter and prevented blackmail, while at the same time exacting some revenge for a previous wrong. Much of the analysis is based on mathematical principles, and follows what Doyle would later explain much more directly: ".....when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth" While Doyle had Sherlock Holmes state it succinctly, it was first said by C. August Dupin, as written by Poe, in these original detective stories.

The original Sherlock Holmes

The book is bit sinister and dark and French, but this is the essential read for the followers of the English who-dunnits.