Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Jul 27, 2009

Eric rated it:

I decided to read Poe's Dupin stories after reading this exchange between Watson and Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet:

"It is simple enough as you explain it," I said, smiling. "You remind me of Edgar Allen Poe's Dupin. I had no idea that such individuals did exist outside of stories."

Sherlock Holmes rose and lit his pipe. "No doubt you think that you are complimenting me in comparing me to Dupin," he observed. "Now, in my opinion, D More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 08, 2008

Daniel rated it:

I really wanted and expected to enjoy Edgar Allan Poe's trio of tales featuring C. Auguste Dupin, knowing that they gave birth to the modern detective story and that Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories likely would not exist without them.

The Dupin stories are not without their merits: "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" has a humorous -- and perhaps more humorous than Poe intended -- twist at the end, and "The Mystery of Marie Roget" is noteworthy for contain More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 19, 2011

Judy rated it:

These three tales, justly famous for their seminal contribution to the genre of detective fiction, still make entertaining reads today. For the modern reader, it's true, the methods and manner of Poe's Dupin are very familiar, but he does vividly transport us back to the 1840's, to a time when such investigative analysis seemed novel, and does invite us to join in the investigative role, both of which spice up and freshen the reading.

Matthew Pearl's Intro adds another layer of interes More...

0 comments like

Sep 22, 2011

Phair rated it:

Kind of a drag. Reader Bronson Pinchot used such a heavy accent for Dupin that it was hard to follow. I know I have read the three main stories before, probably in high school, but recalled only the barest bones. They really were quite tedious; filled with philosophizing and details about Dupin's thought processes. I can see where Poe's character influenced the later detective genre - Holmes, Poirot, right up to TV's Mentalist, with the emphasis on attention to detail, familiarity with huma More...

0 comments like

Feb 21, 2011

Jc rated it:

These three stories, "Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Mystery of Marie Roget," and "The Purloined Letter" are usually described as the first detective stories (not to be confused with The Notting Hill Mystery, the "first" detective novel). I hadn't read these since 6th grade. Re-reading them I am struck by how archaic they are, very different from anything we would describe as a detective mystery today. Important to read for historical reasons, especially More...

0 comments like

Feb 15, 2011

Jason rated it:

While the Murders in the Rue Morgue is probably the most famous of Poe's three detective stories, The Purloined Letter is my favorite. It's a great example of how not every crime novel/story needs to revolve around a murder--other situations can be just as harrowing. In my mind, The Mystery of Marie Roget is the weakest of the three tales, but retains some merit as an intellectual exercise. Combined, the trilogy represents the earliest incarnation of the detective genre, and it's a hoot to find More...

0 comments like

Nov 29, 2011

Kara rated it:

I would give this 3.5. Two main drawbacks- I was listening and Dupin's french accent was so hard to get through that it took away from the actual words. I would have liked to read it more than hear it first. Second, the ending to the Rue Morgue was way too ridic. Really? But it's fascinating that this style of writing so closely mirrors the crime/murder tv shows of today.

sidenote: i am 34 years old and thought the murders in the rue morgue was actually stories about murders taking p More...

0 comments like

Jul 29, 2009

Avel rated it:

C. Auguste Dupin is a man in Paris who solves the mysterious brutal murder of two women. Numerous witnesses heard a suspect, though no one agrees on what language was spoken. At the murder scene, Dupin finds a hair that does not appear to be human.

As the first true detective in fiction, the Dupin character established many literary devices which would be used in future fictional detectives including Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Many later characters, for example, follow Poe's More...

0 comments like

Apr 09, 2011

Bayansa rated it:

فضولي الشديد للقراءه لهاذا الكاتب هو مادفعني لقراءة هذه القصة نظرآ لتواجدها في مكتبتي الآيفونيه
اختياري لهالكتاب كان عشوائي
الكتاب في البداية كان معقد .. !
تهت وترددت في ماينبغي علي فعله .. :|
اتركه ؟
اكمل ؟
المهم كملته في النهاية
القصة غريبة جدآ والنهاية غير متوقعه.. !!
اللي ماعجبني هو القاتل في النهاية :|
وكيف انحلت القضية بكل بساطه .. -_- ..
More...

0 comments like

Jan 08, 2011

Bea rated it:

This book would deserve more of a 3.5. For lovers of the genre, such as myself, you could say that it is entertaining and interesting to see. Auguste Dupin is what you'd call the ancestor of Sherlock Holmes, and he delivers the solutions in a similar way, deducting from even the smallest detail more than any other more than any other fictional detective could dream of. However, for someone whose mind isn't as fast as Dupin and his peers, you could say that three stories consisting of only soluti More...

0 comments like

Feb 08, 2011

Becki added it

I wanted to read this set of stories when I found out that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based his character of Sherlock Holmes on M. Dupin. But I found the writing a bit tedious. If I remember right the Murders in the Rue Morgue was pretty good but the others were hard work to plow through. I did like the premise though, of a genius detective solving crimes the cops couldn't and explaining them to his sidekick. Guess Doyle did too!

0 comments like

Dec 17, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

I am reading this book in conjunction with The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl for my reading group. Seeing as Pearl wrote the new introduction for this collection of stories, I'm excited about the pairing!
And now that I'm done with both the Poe Shadow and The Dupin Tales, I am Poe-d out. The Dupin tales were interesting, and 3 short stories I feel I should have read already (Murder at the Rue Morgue, The Perloined Letter and The Murder of Marie Roget). The long winded speeches by Dupin tended More...

0 comments like

Sep 26, 2011

Steve rated it:

The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget, and the Purloined Letter, are the three separate mysteries in this book. I enjoyed all three, C. Agugste Dupin being an obvious inspiration for Sherlock Holmes (an observation made by Dr. Watson himself), and the mysteries each being short and clever and unique. Dupin isn't as developed as Holmes but his powers of observation and reasoning mixed with Poe's dark wit and some real life inspiration made these stories real page turners

0 comments like

Jun 23, 2011

Denise rated it:

I've always loved Edgar Allen Poe. He is somewhat over the top at times, but oh what vocabulary! I even liked him in high school, when many of my fellow students thought he was quite boring. Guess I have a different sense of what's good. I believe that this story was one of the first police procedural mysteries. Good story, but I wasn't thrilled by the ending. Can't knock a master writer like Poe.

0 comments like

Jan 08, 2011

Doron rated it:

This was my first Poe written work that I read. I must say it was good BUT in some places it was too long and it could be cut to the point. The need to explain the way of thinking and and the reasons that led to that way were, in some points, tyring and boring. The rest of the book (all of the stories) was great and showed me how to look at things in most objective way. A good one.

0 comments like

Jun 07, 2011

Noran rated it:

I picked this reader for he is Bronson Pinchot-Balkie from that fun Tv series. I adore Poe and have been wanting to review the detective stories for some time now. Well, Pinchot is rapid and monotone--I could not tolerate 5 minutes of him-speeding through Poe's words. So the star is only for the speaker/reader, and not for Poe! My first favorite author of my youth.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2009

Madeline rated it:

Remember the show Wishbone on PBS? I kind of worshipped that show as a kid, and while I was reading The Purloined Letter I couldn't help imagining Dupin as a little Jack Russel Terrier dressed in Edwardian clothing and solving mysteries.

I prefer that version. As we learned from Shakespeare in Love: audiences love a bit with a dog.

0 comments like

Jan 05, 2012

Doskoi_panda rated it:

Poe's work itself is 5 stars, no question. But this edition would benefit from some footnotes/annotations for some of the more obscure things and the French phrases, rather than the additional material and the "reader's circle" questions/discussions, particularly for someone not familiar with the early 1800s.

0 comments like

Apr 20, 2010

Travis rated it:

Poe helped create the detective story with these stories featuring the odd genius Dupin.
Historically important, as well as being entertaining.
Rue Morgue and Purloined Letter are the strongest and present themes and ideas that are used in detective fiction to this day.
There is a wit and almost sense of fun that is rare to see in Poe's work.

My only gripe is that Dupin's 'Watson' is never given a name that I remember and is pretty flat. More of a story telling device t More...

0 comments like

Jun 30, 2011

Mikel rated it:

Think Sherlock Holmes meets Plutarch and that's pretty much what you have here. A strange combination but it works. Poe acknowledges that there are long pieces of treatise like exposition. Overall it was a good read but he beats the chess analogy drum a little too long.

0 comments like

May 26, 2009

Erin rated it:

I chose The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl for my book club to read. There were so many references to these Dupin Tales that I thought I should read them as well. Very short - quick reading. Not the best stories I've read, but I can see how Dupin is characterized as the start of the modern mystery detective.

0 comments like

Oct 16, 2010

Brett rated it:

Fun to look at the old stories and see the similarities with today's crime solver fiction. It's a little long as Poe tries to emphasize the genius of Dupin, butI hoped the class liked learning a little of the history.

0 comments like

Aug 29, 2011

Jigar rated it:

These tales were precursor to the entire genera in a way, but having read the likes of Carr and Ellery Queen, I have to agree that they don't offer the expected bafflement. Even so, a Poe short story is always welcome for the departure it provides into the dark territories of the human heart.

0 comments like

Jan 14, 2011

Maikeru rated it:

Definitely not what I was expecting. And yet it was undoubtedly a great book as it should be, coming from such a famous and celebrated author.

Debuting myself in Poe's works and knowing these were supposed to be detective stories, besides the fact that there were murders and investigations going on, it was everything but what I was expecting.

Dupin is as clever as someone can possibly be. Expecting something like Poirot, but faster in terms of discovering who the culprit wa More...

0 comments like

Feb 17, 2010

Lauren rated it:

One of the most fascinating things about this book is examining the similarities between this piece and the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Direct connection and potential inspiration.

0 comments like

Jul 27, 2011

Matt added it

Possessing all the design and power of a diseased intelligence! If you like to stir the analytical part of your brain and transcend the the habitual realm of thought... GREAT READ!!!

0 comments like

Dec 02, 2009

The Doctor rated it:

The basis to all detective novels, the origin of a genre. A classic, Poe at his best created forensic thinking, and explained it as a literal walk in the park.

0 comments like

Nov 24, 2009

Benjamin rated it:

After reading Holmes I went to Poe's Auguste Dupin (the original Holmes). Weird, gruesome stories. It's what you'd expect from Poe, I guess.

0 comments like

Jan 27, 2011

Connor rated it:

This book was really intense. It's a great short story. It's a pretty dark book like most of Poe's writing. It's about, obviously, a murder. Dupin investigates the murder. It's a pretty creepy story of two woman who were brutally murdered. It's probably one of my favorite of Poe's work. It's also good if you like short mysteries. It's not all that long either. Just read it at night or something. If you want a break from your current book, but still want something to read, pick up this book. It o More...

0 comments like

Nov 30, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

This story was very confusing for me. I had the story in one hand, a dictionary in the other and overall, it took me 5 hours to read since I had to look up definitions for every other word.
I felt that there was no plot really and it just didn't entertain. The story is way too serious for me to like plus the fact that I couldn't understand it. I also couldn't wrap my head around the culprit. "They" do not have a conscience!
Overall, I advise for everyone to skip this classic.

0 comments like

reviews