With an introduction by Matthew Pearl 'The best detective in fiction...Dupin is unrivalled’ -Arthur Conan Doyle Edgar Allan Poe invented detective fiction with these three mesmerizing stories of a young eccentric named C. Auguste Dupin: 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', 'The Mystery of Marie Roget' and The Purloined Letter'. Dorothy L. Sayers would later describe these tales as 'almost a complete manual of detective theory and practice'. Indeed, Poe's short mysteries inspired the creation of countless literary sleuths, among them Sherlock Holmes. Today the unique Dupin stories still stand out as utterly engrossing page-turners. This edition includes the definitive text of these stories and an introduction and appendix on ‘The Earliest Detectives’ by Matthew Pearl.