C. Auguste Dupin

When the mutilated bodies of Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter are found in the rue Morgue, detective C. Auguste Dupin is faced with the most puzzling case of his career as witness accounts contradict each other and key evidence from the perpetrator does not appear to be human. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is recognized as the first detective story and the model for Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. A pioneer of the short story genre, Poe's stories typically captured themes of the macabre and included elements of the mysterious. His better-known stories include "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Pit and the Pendulum", "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Tell-Tale Heart". HarperCollins brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperCollins short-stories collection to build your digital library.

When the body of Marie Rogêt is found in the Seine River, detective C. Auguste Dupin uses his superior deductive skills to discover the identity of the murderer. "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" is based in part on the actual murder of Mary Cecilia Rogers in New York in the mid-nineteenth century, and is believed to be the first example of real-life crime used as a foundation for fictional narrative. A pioneer of the short story genre, Poe's stories typically captured themes of the macabre and included elements of the mysterious. His better-known stories include "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Pit and the Pendulum", "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Tell-Tale Heart". HarperCollins brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperCollins short-stories collection to build your digital library.

Poe's character, the detective C.August Dupin and his sidekick the unnamed narrator undertake the unsolved murder of Marie Rogêt in Paris. The body of Rogêt, a perfume  shop employee, is found in the River Seine and the media take a keen interest in the mystery. Dupin remarks that the newspapers "create a sensation... rather than to further the cause of truth." Even so, he uses the newspaper reports to get into the mind of the murderer. Dupin uses his skills of  ratiocination to determine that a single murderer was involved who dragged her by the cloth belt around her waist before dumping her body off a boat into the river. Finding the boat, Dupin suggests, will lead the police to the murderer…