Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Lunchtime read: Selected Tales

I am in Dublin right now with work so everything is going to be slightly delayed. Sadly work is intense so there won;t be a chance to see anything other than the conference facilities at the Guinness storehouse. Anyway back to Poe...

There is something about a book that makes you really think that is very attractive. There is something happening here beyond the simple trying to guess which way the plot will turn and with the sequel to Murder in the Rue Morgue you are left without a resolution but thinking about the value in thinking differently about events and understanding what makes it as a clue.

Highlights from The Masque of the Red Death
A territory run by a duke is plagued by the red death, so called because of the bloody appearance of its victims. The Duke turns his back on his people and takes 1,000 courtiers and takes to a walled citadel to protect themselves against the plague. But at a masqued ball suddenly a stranger appears in a cloak with the marks of the red death on his face. he Duke demands his removal and when no one manages to do anything about it he runs at the stranger and then falls down dead, swiftly followed by the rest of his guests who tried to avoid death but managed to get caught after all.

Highlights from The Mystery of Marie Roget
This is a sequel to Murder in the Rue Morgue so Dupin reappears but he doesn't do so for quite a while. Mirroring the true events of a murder of a girl in New York the case centres on a girl found dead in a river.Theories abound through the press but Dupin shows by reading all the press cuttings, which are printed here in full, it is possible without even visiting the murder site to show that not only have the police missed most clues but also made completely the wrong assumptions about the killers - which is not a gang but an individual.

You are left wondering if the killer was a mystery naval officer or wether or not the finance had somehow managed to find out about a possible elopement and stopped it. The reality is that no one tells you because you are left wondering without an answer.

More tomorrow...