Edgar Allan Poe

Penny Dreadful Presents ... the Murders in the Rue Morgue and the Canterville Ghost Edgar Allan Poe

Publisher Marketing: Fans of the new Showtime series 'Penny Dreadful' are in for a treat with this Penny Dreadful Double Bill. 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' by Edgar Allan Poe Decades before Sherlock Holmes, American author Edgar Allan Poe created the detective story in this remarkable trilogy of short stories featuring genius French criminologist C. Auguste Dupin. 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' represents the beginning of crime fiction. The story was first published in Graham's Magazine in 1841 and has been recognized as the first detective story. Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination." As the first fictional detective, Poe's Dupin displays many traits which became literary conventions in subsequent fictional detectives including Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Many later characters, for example, follow Poe's model of the brilliant detective, his personal friend who serves as narrator, and the final revelation being presented before the reasoning that leads up to it. Dupin himself reappears in "The Mystery of Marie Roget" and "The Purloined Letter." 'The Canterville Ghost' by Oscar Wilde It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in the magazine The Court and Society Review in February 1887. It was later included in a collection of short stories entitled Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories in 1891. The eerie tale takes place in an old English country manor, Canterville Chase, which has all the accoutrements of a traditional haunted house. Descriptions of the wainscoting, the library panelled in black oak, and the armour in the hallway characterize the Gothic setting. Wilde mixes the macabre with comedy, juxtaposing devices from traditional English ghost stories such as creaking floorboards, clanking chains, and ancient prophecies with symbols of contemporary American consumerism. Wilde's chiller has been adapted for the stage and screen numerous times. A new cinematic version is rumored to be in the works for release in Christmas 2014 starring Hugh Laurie (House). Contributor Bio:  Poe, Edgar Allan Author, poet, and literary critic, Edgar Allan Poe is credited with pioneering the short story genre, inventing detective fiction, and contributing to the development of science fiction. However, Poe is best known for his works of the macabre, including such infamous titles as "The Raven," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "Lenore," and "The Fall of the House of Usher." Part of the American Romantic Movement, Poe was one of the first writers to make his living exclusively through his writing, working for literary journals and becoming known as a literary critic. His works have been widely adapted in film. Edgar Allan Poe died of a mysterious illness in 1849 at the age of 40. Contributor Bio:  Wilde, Oscar Oscar Wilde was a Victorian-era British author and playwright. In his youth, Wilde became attached to the Aesthetic Movement, which emphasized the appreciation of the aesthetic value of cultural creations above social or political purposes, and this philosophy influenced his work throughout his career. The themes of art and beauty are particularly present in his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, , and in his two most popular dramatic works, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. A quarrel with the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred, resulted in Wilde's arrest and imprisonment for gross indecency. Wilde died in 1900, penniless and in exile, as a result of cerebral meningitis contracted while in prison.