The Purloined Letter
The Purloined Letter is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1844. It follows the story of a Parisian police prefect, C. Auguste Dupin, as he attempts to solve a mysterious case involving a stolen letter. The letter in question is a political document of great importance, stolen from the Minister D— by a rival minister, the Minister of the Interior. The police have been unable to locate the letter, and the Minister D— is desperate to have it recovered. Dupin takes on the case and, using his powers of deduction, discovers that the letter is hidden in plain sight in the Minister of the Interior's own apartment. Dupin explains that the thief had assumed that the police would never think to look for the letter in such an obvious place. The story is a classic example of the use of deductive reasoning in detective fiction, and is considered to be one of Poe's best works. It is also an early example of the locked-room mystery genre.
By Edgar Allan Poe · First published 1845 · Genre: Mystery, Detective Fiction, Crime Fiction · 7,129 words
First lines
Nil sapientiae odiosius acumine nimio. -- Seneca.
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The Purloined Letter is listed on Textopian as a novel by Edgar Allan Poe, dated 1845 CE.
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- Work type: Novel
- Author: Edgar Allan Poe
- Date: 1845 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Mystery, Detective Fiction, Crime Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Romanticism
- Length: 7,129 words
- Structure: 1 section, 251 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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Discussion starters
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Similar titles
- Thou Art The Man by Edgar Allan Poe
- The Bully Of Brocas Court by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Playing With Fire by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Hunted Down by Charles Dickens
- A Scandal In Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- The Adventure Of The Missing Three Quarter by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Genres
- Mystery — The Purloined Letter is a classic mystery story by Edgar Allan Poe, featuring a detective who must solve a crime by piecing together clues and evidence.
- Detective Fiction — The Purloined Letter follows the conventions of detective fiction, with a detective protagonist who must solve a crime by piecing together clues and evidence.
- Crime Fiction — The Purloined Letter is a crime fiction story, featuring a crime that must be solved by the detective protagonist.
- Gothic Fiction — The Purloined Letter has elements of gothic fiction, with its dark and mysterious atmosphere and its focus on the psychological effects of crime and guilt.
Tags
mystery · detective · Edgar Allan Poe · short story · literature · crime · psychology · ratiocination · suspense · 19th century · intellect · deception