The Purloined Letter: Short Story
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About this ebook
When a missing letter leads to blackmail, detective C. Auguste Dupin must deduce the location of it without raising the suspicion of the blackmailer. “The Purloined Letter” is the third short story by Edgar Allan Poe to feature detective C. August Dupin, widely recognized as one of the first fictional detectives in literature.
A pioneer of the short story genre, Poe’s stories typically captured themes of the macabre and included elements of the mysterious. His better-known stories include “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”.
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Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809. His parents, both touring actors, died before he was three. He was raised by John Allan, a prosperous Virginian merchant. Poe published his first volume of poetry while still a teenager. He worked as an editor for magazines in Philadelphia, Richmond and New York, and achieved respect as a literary critic. In 1836, he married his thirteen year-old cousin. It was only with the publication of The Raven and other Poems in 1845 that he achieved national fame as a writer. Poe died in mysterious circumstances in 1849.
Read more from Edgar Allan Poe
The Terrifying Tales by Edgar Allan Poe: Tell Tale Heart; The Cask of the Amontillado; The Masque of the Red Death; The Fall of the House of Usher; The Murders in the Rue Morgue; The Purloined Letter; The Pit and the Pendulum Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edgar Allan Poe: The Complete Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tales of Mystery and Imagination Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Greatest Ghost and Horror Stories Ever Written: volume 4 (30 short stories) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fall of the House of Usher Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Raven: And Other Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Short Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Famous Modern Ghost Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Weiser Book of Horror and the Occult: Hidden Magic, Occult Truths, and the Stories That Started It All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volumes 1 and 2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Classic American Short Story MEGAPACK ® (Volume 1): 34 of the Greatest Stories Ever Written Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Illustrated by Harry Clarke Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gothic Novel Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tell Tale Heart - The Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe (Fantasy and Horror Classics) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Poems Tales Criticism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Greatest Ghost and Horror Stories Ever Written: volume 1 (30 short stories) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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The Purloined Letter - Edgar Allan Poe
The Purloined
Letter
Edgar Allan Poe
HarperPerennialClassicsLogo.jpgCONTENTS
The Purloined Letter
About the Author
About the Series
Copyright
About the Publisher
The Purloined Letter
Nil sapientiae odiosius acumine nimio
—Seneca
At Paris, just after dark one gusty evening in the autumn of 18—, I was enjoying the twofold luxury of meditation and a meerschaum, in company with my friend C. Auguste Dupin, in his little back library, or book-closet, au troisiême, No. 33, Rue Dunôt, Faubourg St. Germain. For one hour at least we had maintained a profound silence; while each, to any casual observer, might have seemed intently and exclusively occupied with the curling eddies of smoke that oppressed the atmosphere of the chamber. For myself, however, I was mentally discussing certain topics which had formed matter for conversation between us at an earlier period of the evening; I mean the affair of the Rue Morgue, and the mystery attending the murder of Marie Rogêt. I looked upon it, therefore, as something of a coincidence, when the door of our apartment was thrown open and admitted our old acquaintance, Monsieur G——, the Prefect of the Parisian police.
We gave him a hearty welcome; for there was nearly half as much of the entertaining as of the contemptible about the man, and we had not seen him for several years. We had been sitting in the dark, and Dupin now arose for the purpose of lighting a lamp, but sat down again, without doing so, upon G.’s saying that he had called to consult us, or rather to ask the opinion of my friend, about some official business which had occasioned a great deal of trouble.
If it is any point requiring reflection,
observed Dupin, as he forebore to enkindle the wick, we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark.
That is another of your odd notions,
said the Prefect, who had a fashion of calling every thing odd
that was beyond his comprehension, and thus lived amid an absolute legion of oddities.
Very true,
said Dupin, as he supplied his visiter with a pipe, and rolled