The Purloined Letter

By Edgar Allan Poe

"The Purloined Letter" is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe. It is the third of his three detective stories featuring the fictional C. Auguste Dupin, the other two being "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt". These stories are considered to be important early forerunners of the modern detective story. It first appeared in the literary annual The Gift for 1845 (1844) and was soon reprinted in numerous journals and newspapers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paperless
• Release date: Aug 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9786050404456

Edgar Allan Poe

New York Times bestselling author Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, with appointments at the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and the Department of Economics. He has also held a visiting professorship at MIT’s Media Lab. He has appeared on CNN and CNBC, and is a regular commentator on National Public Radio’s Marketplace. He lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife and two children.

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The Purloined Letter

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

Reviews for The Purloined Letter

[rainidontmind · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Three stars for being Poe. Now to read some of the better ones.

[philsyphe · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Read this as part of my BA in English.With Poe's reputation, I felt disappointed with this, though parts did impress me. The concept is clever, but too much rambling prose prevented me from really liking this.

[bonniemarjorie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Perhaps it is the very simplicity of the thing which puts you at fault."

Compared to the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, this was one I knew I couldn't possibly miss. I could see some similarities, but naturally, Sherlock was sorely missed. In his place, Poe's writing was an adequate replacement. The story was not full of any action; however, it was a recollection of the search that was conducted for the 'purloined letter' and the reasoning that sometimes what you're looking for is right under your nose all along.

"It is merely," I said, "an identification of the reasoner's intellect with that of his opponent."

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is definitely the best of the three Poe stories featuring Dupin, despite having the most commonplace title. It's a clear antecedent of Sherlock Holmes in almost every respect, and actually has a plot as well. You can hear Holmes saying many of Dupin's lines, Watson saying many of the unnamed narrator's and Lestrade saying many of Inspector G's lines.

[michael8xolotl · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With this the third of the stories about the detective C. Auguste Dupin, he is approached by Monsieur G-, the Perfect of the Parisian police. A letter has been purloined from the Royal apartments, and although the thief is known, a Minister D-, the letter has not been found even after a very thorough search. Dupin postulates that sometimes events are simplier then they seem.
This was an enjoyable mystery story

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read a few Edgar Allan Poe stories in my time (I remember being very scared by reading the Tell-Tale Heart) but this one had never this one. Since it is on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list and it was available as a free download on the internet I decided to finish up my trifecta of detective novels by reading it now. I suppose this would be classified as one of the oldest detective mysteries and I'm sure that is why it is on the list.A letter has been taken from a royal personage's room by a minister of the Crown. The letter would be damaging to the royal personage (although not specified it is presumed the royal personage is the Queen) if it was divulged to her husband so the minister can use it to obtain advantages for himself. The Parisian police, headed by Monsieur G., have been tasked with recovering the letter but despite searching the minister's house minutely and having him waylaid twice to be personally searched they have not been able to find it. Monsieur G. comes to Auguste Dupin to ask for advice. Dupin advises him to search the house again. When Monsieur G. returns in a month he confesses that they have not been able to find the letter and that the reward has been doubled. G. says he would give 50,000 francs to whoever could help find the letter. Dupin says if G. writes a cheque he will produce the letter and he does upon receiving the cheque. G. goes away happy but mystified and Dupin explains to the narrator how he found the letter. In this he reminded me quite a lot of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot using his little grey cells to solve a mystery that eluded the police.It's nice to tick another one off the list.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a detective novel (short story) by Poe. Poe is credited with the creation of the modern detective novel. The story is about a stolen letter from the Queen of France. It displays the skills of the detective. It was enjoyable.