The Purloined Letter [short story]

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.

Eh. Not my favourite of Poe's works by far, but I do respect it as a departure from his typical style and subject matter. The real reason I didn't like this is because it's almost entirely dialogue, and for a story that could have been interesting, 95% of it is spent rambling on about algebra and metaphysics.

Edgar Allen Poe was an amazingly creative, unconventional man, and he is credited with inventing and popularizing the modern detective novel. The first Dupin mystery was written in 1841, [b:The Murders in the Rue Morgue|3301759|The Murders in the Rue Morgue|Edgar Allan Poe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1409105459s/3301759.jpg|18440614]; [b:The Purloined Letter|278854|The Purloined Letter|Edgar Allan Poe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338446224s/278854.jpg|270472] is another mystery handily solved by C. Auguste Dupin.

This tale is not a murder mystery (as the previous Dupin mysteries were), but rather the problem of a letter stolen from the Queen of France. The explanation of Dupin's reasoning at the end seems a bit grandiose show more to me, but is very necessary for the reader to understand (and, in fact, to admire) his skills. I enjoyed the writing style, the dramatic nature, and the epic explanation at the end.

Overall, a lovely little mystery, and clearly a huge influence on Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, (although written well before Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes). Well worth reading, and highly recommended. show less

This is one of Poe's mysteries, and it might seem dated in today's era compared to the forensic technology and mysteries we deal with in the 21st century, this is still a very fun and classic read.

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 show more 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. show less

The Purloined Letter was originally published in 1845, and is one of three stories featuring the famous Parisian amateur detective C. Auguste Dupin. These three stories are considered early forerunners of the modern detective story.

This case involves the blackmail of the queen. A letter from the queen’s lover has been taken. The police know who took the letter and are trying to retrieve it but all their efforts to locate it’s hiding place have failed. On being handed a cheque in the amount of 50,000 francs, Dupin was able to produce the letter. Using his method of identifying with the criminal, Dupin was able to put his mind to work and discover where the letter had been hidden.

A simple story with the answer relying on the show more deductions made by Dupin who worked out that the letter’s appearance had been altered and that it was in plain sight if one cared to look. Having the detective simply use his brain to solve the mystery allowed this genre to become both based on action as in The Murders of Rue Morgue and on analytical thinking by allowing the detective to ponder the case and track down the clues through his own deductions as in this story. show less

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.