Welcome to Murder In March Madness. I will highlight one title with the word Murder, or a variant, in it all during the month of March. Today kicks off this event.Everyone should know that the first detective story was the short story written by Edgar Allen Poe way back in April 1841, it was called The Murders In The Rue Morgue. So this title will kick off the Event.
The Murders In The Rue Morgue
by Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849)
The story surrounds the double murder of Madame L'Espanaye and
her daughter in the Rue Morgue, a fictional street in Paris. Accounts of the murder revealed that the mother's throat was cut so badly that her head was barely attached and the daughter was
strangled and then stuffed into a chimney. The murder occured in an inaccessible room on the fourth floor, locked from the inside. Neighbors give contradictory accounts because they each claim
that they heard the murderer speaking a different language. Bcause none of the witnesses can agree on the language the murderer
spoke, It is concluded they were not hearing a human voice at all. A hair at the scene of the murder that is quite unusual is the basis of the investigation. An ad is put in the Paris news and a sailor answers it and offers a reward for the return of his animal that escaped into Madame L'Espanaye's room.
Trivia
Originally titled Murders in the Rue Trianon
This classic was made into a movie three times.
1932
Cast
Bela Legosi
Sidney Fox
Leon Ames
Betty Ross Clarke
Directed by
Robert Florey
Directed by
Roy Del Ruth
1971
Cast
Jason Robards
Christine Kaufmann
Herbert Lom
Directed by
Gordon Hessler
And a PC game
Scott - That is definitely a classic, old-school kind of detective story. One of the very first, and really influential.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great collection of covers to kick off your meme, Scott.
ReplyDelete