Edgar Allan Poe invented the detective story

By Kat Eschner Smithsonian.com May 15, 2019

Lexile 430L
Edgar Allan Poe introduced the world to C. Auguste Dupin. He hit on a winning formula.

Dupin was Sherlock Holmes before Sherlock Holmes. He a genius detective. He first appeared in “The Murders
in the Rue Morgue.” It was first published in 1841. That story is the first locked-room mystery. The game's afoot.
That's what Holmes might say. Poe didn't give Dupin a nifty catchphrase.

The roots of the detective story go as far back as Shakespeare. That's according to historians Helena Markovi? and
Biliana Oklop?i?. Poe’s tales of rational crime-solving created a genre. The historians say his stories are a mix.
They have crime. And they have a detective narrative. It revolves around solving a puzzle. The puzzle is a
“whodunit.” It invites readers to try to solve the puzzle too.

The key figure in such a story is the detective. Poe’s detective is also in “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt.” And he is
in “The Purloined Letter.” They set the stage for that character. Dupin is a gentleman of leisure. He has no need
to work. He keeps himself occupied. He does so by using “analysis.” He helps the real police solve crimes. The
real police in the stories are not able to do their job. This is like Inspector Lestrade. He is an officer in Scotland
Yard. He is in the stories with Holmes.

Dupin smokes a pipe. He is odd. This is like his literary descendant. He’s also very smart. He is rational. He's a
kind of superhero. He uses powers of thinking. This lets him accomplish great feats of crime-solving. The story's
narrator is his roommate. He follows the detective around. But Dupin’s roommate is not like John Watson. He
remains nameless. He is known as “I.” This is in all three stories.

Poe introduced a number of elements in the Dupin tales. One was the friendly narrator. That would remain
common to detective stories. That's according to Markovi? and Oklop?i?.

“The elements Poe invented are many. They include the reclusive genius detective. His ‘ordinary’ helper. And the
impossible crime. They also include the incompetent police force. The armchair detection. The locked room
mystery, etc. All have become firmly embedded in most mystery novels of today,” the historians write.

Arthur Conan Doyle was the creator of Sherlock. He acknowledged Poe's influence. "Where was the detective
story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?" he wrote.

Poe’s formula appealed in the nineteenth century. That's because detective stories promised that reasoning could
hold the answer to every question. At the same time they had spooky overtones. This appealed to nineteenth
century readers. They were fixated on the occult.

The detective story was particularly appealing. That's because it promised that “intellect will triumph. The crook
will be confounded by the rational sleuth. Science will track down the malefactors and allow honest souls to sleep
at night.” That's according to Ben MacIntyre. He was writing for The Times of London.

MacIntyre also wrote about nineteenth century anxieties. They were about the Industrial Revolution. New ways of
living supported the idea that evil was anonymous. And it was everywhere. There were two instincts. They said
that "faith in reason and mistrust of appearance" are what made Victorians love detective stories. It is a love that
endures today.

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