¿Y si investigamos, señor Poe?

Abstract

It is a common feature to give Poe the paternity of detective fiction. The following pages explore that idea with the discussion of four of Poe’s tales. The purpose is to establish the pattern Poe set as the viable one: the creation of the private detective, the creation of a sidekick character in charge of narrating the facts, and the definition of the method of investigation that keeps on being the basis of detective fiction. A few comparisons with Hammett and Chandler help to define Poe’s way of looking at detective fiction.