![]() ![]() Poe established the formula for the mystery genre, as well as created a memorable detective, C. ![]() Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe (1841)-This is usually considered THE very first detective mystery.The Rector of Veilbye by Steen Steensen Blicher (1829)-A Danish novella based on a true murder case.However, Mlle Scuderi doesn't exactly solve the murders, so whether or not this can be really be called a detective novel is debatable. Mademoiselle de Scuderi by ETA Hoffmann (1819)-A poetess discovers who is murdering people and stealing their jewelry in this Louis XIV-era novella.However, mystery novels as most of us understand them today more or less started in the 19th century. Part of the problem is, what does one really mean by "mystery novel"? Detective fiction, crime fiction, a novel in which a mystery is solved? Depending on how you define the genre, early mysteries might include Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, "The Three Apples" from Arabian Nights, or Chinese gong an stories. Trying to figure out what constitutes the earliest mystery novel can be like trying to dig a hole in the sand: no matter how deeply you go, you never seem to reach the bottom. 1876 illustration from Murder In the Rue Morgue ![]()
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