C. Auguste Dupin

C. Auguste Dupin in The Purloined Letter.

Fictional character.

Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin is a fictional character created by Edgar Allan Poe. Dupin made his first appearance in Poe's 1841 short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", widely considered the first detective fiction story. He reappears in "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" (1842) and "The Purloined Letter" (1844).

In the Sherlock Holmes stories

A Study in Scarlet (1887)

• Sherlock Holmes said that C. Auguste Dupin "had some analytical genius, no doubt; but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine." (STUD 367).

The Cardboard Box (1893)

• Sherlock Holmes said to Dr. Watson "You remember that some little time ago when I read you the passage in one of Poe's sketches in which a close reasoner follows the unspoken thoughts of his companion, you were inclined to treat the matter as a mere tour-de-force of the author. On my remarking that I was constantly in the habit of doing the same thing you expressed incredulity." (CARD 23).

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