#68- Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and “The Masque Of The Red Death”

Online Great Books Podcast

This week, Scott and Karl read two short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe’s stories are known for following many traditions of Gothic fiction, and “The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and “The Masque Of The Red Death” are no different.

First, the duo dives into “The Masque of the Red Death” published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a mysterious plague, known as the Red Death, by hiding in his abbey. You may find a modern-day parallel in times of emergency and precarity.

Published a year earlier, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue" has been described as the first modern detective story. However, Karl points out, “It’s not following the rules of the conventional mystery.” Scott adds, “This is more about the detective than the story or the mystery.”