The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Here is a test, a puzzle for you. It is a faithful account of two most gruesome murders. Can you work out what actually happened in the early hours of one fateful morning in the Rue Morgue? Before you start, here are a few tips. To be a good detective you need the same skills as a good card-player. You must consider and examine every detail, not just the obvious ones. You have to observe every change in a person’s face, everything they say, everything they do and you must always expect the unexpected. And finally, you must remember it all. In this most strange tale, you’ll see a friend of mine at work. He has an astonishingly analytical mind. So, pit your own powers of analysis against his – and against mine. Can you solve the mystery of the murders in the Rue Morgue?

Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.

Edgar Allan Poe (19 January 1809 - 7 October 1849) was an American poet and novelist best known for his gothic tales of mystery.

FELIX BENNETT grew up in Bradford in northern England, and cut short a math and astronomy degree at University College, London, in order to spend more time as an illustrator. He trained at Bradford, then at the Camberwell School of Art. He now lives and works in London.

GILL TAVNER was an English Teacher and Head of Department before turning to writing when she had young children of her own. She has also taught English in South East Asia, worked as a personal trainer, been a management trainee in an insurance company, led treks in Africa, run her own business and painted fake tattoos on Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Perhaps it is this variety that makes her such a versatile writer.