Was Marie Rogêt Murdered by Edgar Allan Poe?

In July 1841 the dead body of the beautiful brunette Mary Cecilia Rogers was found in the Hudson, near Hoboken.

When the famous author Edgar Allan Poe soon afterwards published his story "The Murder of Marie Rogêt", it was clear that his detective Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin was solving a true crime mystery...

On a Wednesday morning in July 1841, three men in a sailing-boat saw a body in the water off Castle Point, Hoboken. It was the dead body of a beautiful brunette, Mary Cecilia Rogers, just 21 years old. According to the New York Tribune ”it was obvious that she had been horribly outraged and murdered”. Her clothes were torn, her petticoat was missing and a piece of lace from the bottom of her dress was embedded so deeply her throat that it had almost disappeared. An autopsy led to the conclusion that she had been “brutally violated”.

http://bookstove.com/book-talk/the-mystery-of-marie-roget-murdered-by-edgar-allan-poe/ - via historicalmysterywriter

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Your Favorite Ghostwriter.


Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

Alas, the link went to one of those awful sites that do not load right away because the obnoxious ad is loading, the one that yells, "CONGRATULATIONS!"
I always instantly exit those, so I guess I'll never know. : (
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
There is a book called "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" that explores the Mary Rogers murder, the failure of the police in investigating the crime, and then Poe's attempt to "solve" the murder by fictionalizing it some years later. If I remember correctly, he either does not come to a satisfactory conclusion in the story or the one he creates could not be equated with the reality. I highly recommend the book (by Dan Stashower).
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Strikes me as more of a case of him building his story around the facts of a sensational case of the time. Sort of Victorian version of the way shows like Law and Order and C.S.I. sometimes do "ripped from the headlines" plots on their shows.

Sounds to me like Poe liked spooky stuff and a story like Mary Rogers's, with all the sex and murder and mystery, probably really grabbed his attention. He realized that other people might be fascinated by the story too, and fictionalized it a bit here and there and made money off of it.

I didn't see anything in the article that was damning evidence against Poe. Knowing a lot about a case and giving a case a lot of thought means he found it interesting enough to follow the case intently in the news and such, not that he was a killer.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.
Email This Post to a Friend
"Was Marie Rogêt Murdered by Edgar Allan Poe?"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More