Edgar Allan Poe Group
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metsrule830
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Vocational
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scarletpimpernel Teacher
High School - 12th GradeeNotes Editor
Posted by scarletpimpernel on Monday November 9, 2009 at 4:37 PMIf you are looking for a literary figure named Dupin, I tagged your question with Poe and one of his short stories entitled "The Purloined Letter." Edgar Allan Poe, while known for his Gothic contributions to American Literature, is also famous for creating the modern detective story (stories which feature an intelligent civilian who solves crime through logic and paying attention to detail all while outwitting the police).
Poe created a reoccurring character named C. Auguste Dupin. He is a wealthy Frenchman who enjoys analyzing various crimes in the comfort of his library, while the police lag several steps behind in their investigation. In "The Purloined Letter," Dupin discovers where a very important letter is being hidden by a thief and prevents far-reaching political consequences from taking place.
Poe's Dupin served as an inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes character, even though many readers think it is the other way around since Poe's detective stories are not as popular as his Gothic ones.
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parkerlee Teacher
eNotes Editor
Posted by parkerlee on Tuesday November 10, 2009 at 9:12 AMDupin also deploys his sleuthing skills in Poe's short story "The Murders of the Rue Morgue." By a simple process of observation and deduction, he solves the unsolvable. Furthermore, this tale is considered the very first detective story, well before the exploits of Maigret, Poirot or Sherlock Holmes.
Dupin also appears in "The Story of Marie Roget," published in 1865.
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