The C. Auguste Dupin Trilogy

The C. Auguste Dupin Trilogy includes the three short stories featuring C. Auguste Dupin.

Le Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin is a fictional character created by Edgar Allan Poe. Dupin made his first appearance in Poe's

The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841), widely considered the first detective fiction story. He reappears in

The Mystery of Marie Rogêt (1842) and

The Purloined Letter (1844). Dupin is not a professional detective and his motivations for solving the mysteries change throughout the three stories. Using what Poe termed

ratiocination, Dupin combines his considerable intellect with creative imagination, even putting himself in the mind of the criminal. His talents are strong enough that he appears able to read the mind of his companion, the unnamed narrator of all three stories. Poe created the Dupin character before the word

detective had been coined. The character laid the groundwork for fictional detectives to come, including Sherlock Holmes, and established most of the common elements of the detective fiction genre.

Included in this collection:

1.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in

Graham's Magazine in 1841. It has been described as the first modern detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his

tales of ratiocination.

2.

The Mystery of Marie Rogêt, often subtitled

A Sequel to The Murders in the Rue Morgue, is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe written in 1842. This is the first murder mystery based on the details of a real crime. It first appeared in

Snowden's Ladies' Companion in three installments, November and December 1842 and February 1843.

3.

The Purloined Letter is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe. It is the third of his three detective stories featuring the fictional C. Auguste Dupin. It first appeared in the literary annual

The Gift for 1845 (1844) and soon was reprinted in numerous journals and newspapers.