The Murders in the Rue Morgue

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Poe's work has always been a provocation, rejecting the fashionable and unoriginal. In puritanical America, he faced slander and obscurity until he found intellectual exile in France posthumously. Baudelaire recognized his significance by translating and commenting on his works in five volumes. This collection marks the beginning of literary modernity. It showcases Poe as a great pioneer in an era of imitation and replication. The first volume, titled "Uncanny Stories," includes Poe's unparalleled narratives, ranging from detective tales like "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" to visionary dream images such as "A Descent into the Maelström." These works represent the peaks of their genre and partially establish it. Poe does not follow the tradition of gothic tales; instead, he has stripped fear of its picturesque horror, exposing its trembling heart. Arthur Conan Doyle noted that a monument to Poe should be greater than the pyramids if all who owe him would sacrifice a portion of their earnings. The collection also features texts by Baudelaire about Poe and his stories.