Edgar Allan Poe: "Tales of Ratiocination" The detective story is a tale that features a mystery and/or the commission of a crime, emphasizing the search for a solution. It distinguishes itself from other forms of fiction by the fact that it is a puzzle. The detective story did not just spring into being in its current form, but rather, evolved over time. The first true detective stories were written by Edgar Allan Poe. Many writers and critics have plainly stated that he is the inventor of detective fiction. Poe introduces one of the most basic elements of the detective story, which is the presentation of clues for his readers. This idea becomes very important in all subsequent works of detective fiction. That is, in all such fiction, all of the clues are available for the reader and the detective to solve the crime (usually murder), and at the end of the story, the reader should be able to look back on the clues and realize that he could have solved the mystery. A detective story in which the solution is suddenly revealed to the reader in considered bad form.Poe was a man so devoted to concealment and deception and unraveling and detection that it was only natural for it to be displayed in his writings. He managed to manipulate setting, character, and dialogue to lead the reader inescapably to the emotional state most appropriate for the perfect murder. Poe does not allow the reader to merely sit back and observe, but makes the reader accompany the detective toward the solution and apply his own powers of logic and deduction alongside those of the detective. Although a crime usually has been committed, the reader's attention is diverted to the baffling circumstances surrounding the crime rather than to the event itself. The tale's climax is the solution of the puzzle, and the bulk of the narrative concerns the logical process by which the investigator follows a series of clues to this solution. Very often the "detective" s...
