Justice in Crime Fiction: Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and Agatha Christie's Murder On the Orient Express

This research aims at investigating the concept of justice in crime fiction as represented in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) and in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (1934). It is an attempt to bring fresh perspectives and interpretations to the genre- its definition, origin, history and elements are all explored- through a comparative analysis of two different writers in order to discover new readings and discussions of their biography and literary legacy. In addition, the researcher aimed at comparing between the male/female and American/British manipulation of the chosen works, especially Christie can be considered an extension to Poe. Furthermore, the researcher explored two different ages in two different countries in order to monitor the changes occurred to the genre, starting from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. In addition, the similarities and dissimilarities between Poe's short story and Christie’s novel are all examined.
 
This study also manipulates a general background of crime fiction as a genre, its origin, characteristics, stages for development and its aim to arrive at the truth and achieving justice among societies. The researcher manipulates a comparative study between the two-selected works to discover the hidden motives beneath the crime, the character of the detectives, the clues, solutions, criminals and how to achieve justice at the end of the selected works.