Synopses & Reviews
Employing the methods of Poes own detective, Edgar Allan Poe and the Dupin Mysteries offers new and surprising discoveries about Poes stories “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt,” and “The Purloined Letter.” Kopley sheds light on the beginnings of the modern detective tale and anchors Poe to his rightful place within the genre. Offering archival study and biographical analysis, as well as a reprint of the three stories, this book is an insightful and useful guide for students and experts alike.
Review
"This book will be useful for readers who are especially interested in the Dupin tales, and the inclusion of the texts of those three tales adds to the usefulness of the book. There is an ample bibliography of primary and secondary materials involved in the critiques of the Dupin tales, and the index is also helpful for easy reference. Poe would doubtless find much to gratify him, were he to read this book." - The Edgar Allan Poe Review
"The book's overall presentation of Poe's 'mysteries' makes it an indispensable resource for scholars and critics. Moreover, unlike John T. Irwin's brilliant but often idiosyncratic criticism of Poe's detective fiction in The Mystery to a Solution (1994), Kopley's book is couched in a jargon-free style that will help to make it useful for teachers and accessible for students of all stripes and levels." - nbol-19
"Edgar Allan Poe virtually invented the detective story, and Kopley reveals unexpected dimensions of his important discovery through an innovative combination of close reading, genetic criticism, and biography. Kopley's diligent research and astute literary analysis illuminate the meanings and contexts of Poe's detective stories in fresh ways. This book will be of great value to scholars of Poe and the American Renaissance." - David S. Reynolds, author of Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson
Synopsis
Employing the methods of Poe's own detective, Edgar Allan Poe and the Dupin Mysteries offers new and surprising discoveries about Poe's stories "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Mystery of Marie Roget," and "The Purloined Letter." Kopley sheds light on the beginnings of the modern detective tale and anchors Poe to his rightful place within the genre. Offering archival study and biographical analysis, as well as a reprint of the three stories, this book is an insightful and useful guide for students and experts alike."
About the Author
Richard Kopley is Distinguished Professor of English at Penn State DuBois. He is the author of The Threads of The Scarlet Letter, and the editor of Poes Pym: Critical Explorations, Prospects for the Study of American Literature, and Poes The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. He is also co-editor of the second volume of Prospects, as well as of the annual Resources for American Literary Study. Kopley is former president and honorary member of the Poe Studies Association and former president of the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society.
Table of Contents
Formal Considerations of the Dupin Tales * The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and The Philadelphia Saturday News * The Mystery of Marie Rogêt” and “Various Newspaper Files” * "The Purloined Letter” and Death-Bed Confessions * Biographical Considerations of the Dupin Tales