Before I did some research, I was thinking that the element of horror may have been the difference. Thinking of Murders in the Rue Morgue--I did read The GOld Bug but don't remember it that well--I was surmizing that that might have been the difference between Poe and Collins and their reputations for being the first. I don't like really scary mystery stories, and I usually read the end first to alleviate my tenseness while readng the book. smile The Fall of the House of Usher does, for me, fit more into the horror genre than the mystery genre. Poe sure knows how to build the suspense and to make us dentify with the protagonist. smile Cindy --- Monica Willyard <plumlipstick@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Hi, Amy. It's great to have a teacher on this list. > (smile) I have > to confess that I haven't enjoyed Poe's work. It > gives me the > creeps, and I guess I'd have classified it as horror > fiction instead > of mystery fiction. The House of Usher gave me the > creeps in > triplicate, nothing like the Rex Stout, Ellery > Queen, or Agatha > Christie books I've come to love. I see your logic > and can agree > with it at the intellectual level. At the heart > level, I just sort > of feel... revulsion and wish I could argue the > point. To me, Poe > was a deeply disturbed man who probably needed > Lithium. > > Monica Willyard > > > At Sunday 9/24/2006 03:46 PM, you wrote: > >Sorry folks but the honor of inventing both the > first true mystery > >(story and poem) and detective story go to Edgar > Allen Poe. While > >the British like to claim to be the originators of > almost all types > >of literature and certainly have perfected some, > they neither > >created nor perfected these two but they were the > precursors of > >some. The first detective story was his "The > Murders in the Rue > >Morgue" with August Dupon. > > To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to > bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject > line. To get a list of available commands, put the > word 'help' by itself in the subject line. > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.