Enter Chevalier Dupin

As The Writers’ Almanac reminds us, it was on this date in 1841 that

the first detective story was published. In his story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” published in Graham’s Magazine, Edgar Allan Poe ... created mystery’s first fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin. The story introduced many of the elements of mysteries that are still popular today: the genius detective, the not-so-smart sidekick, the plodding policeman, and the use of the red herring to lead readers off the track.

If, for some strange reason, you’ve never read “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” you are welcome to read it for free here.