The Purloined Letter is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe in 1845. It is a story in The Works of Edgar Allan Poe.
It details a personal thievery in royalty, and a detective named C. Auguste Dupin is consulted to provide help on the case.
It is widely regarded as one of the first detective stories ever, at least 50 years before Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the Sherlock Holmes series.
Plot[]
The story takes place in the 19th century in Paris, France.
The Chief Inspector of the Paris Police arrives at the home of C. Auguste Dupin, a detective who has just solved the Murders in the Rue Morgue. The Chief Inspector tells Dupin that the case that he requires help on is very simple but perplexing, and also extremely delicate, so they must keep it a secret.
Months prior to the events of the story, the Queen of France had recieved a letter that she did not want her husband, the King of France, to know about. However, the Chancellor of France - recognizing the handwriting and seal on the letter - had noticed her suspicious behavior, and cleverly stole the letter while the King was distracted. The Queen ensured her trust in the Chief Inspector and the Paris Police to find the letter before its contents are revealed, but every time they searched his home, they could not find the letter.
The Chancellor stealing the letter
After the Chief Inspector finishes his story, Dupin suspects that the Chancellor is blackmailing the Queen to keep quiet for his personal and political gains. The Chief Inspector then gives Dupin a blueprint map of the Chancellor's home, with marks to indicate where they had searched.
"Thieves" rob the Chancellor
Dupin wants to know more about their searches conducted at the Chancellor's house. The Chief Inspector tells him about their thorough searches, but finding nothing in the process. When Dupin's butler Claude suggests that he carry the letter with him, the Chief Inspector dismisses this as his men - disguised as thieves - have searched him thoroughly with no such luck. Dupin then asks the Chief Inspector for a thorough description of the letter, and the Chief Inspector ponders that the letter must be there somewhere.
The Chief Inspector returns a few days later to Dupin's house, with no luck finding the letter, and wishes that he could pay 50,000 francs to whoever found. Dupin then tells the Chief Inspector to write the check, because he has found the letter, and produces it to him. The Chief Inspector then leaves to take the letter to the Queen. Claude then asks how Dupin was able to find the letter, to which Dupin reveals that he used logic: when the police searched the Chancellor's home, they believed that the Chancellor would have hidden the letter in an out-of-place location, but because the Chancellor was also a poet, he was also a creative thinker, so he actually hid it out in the open. When Dupin arrived at the Chancellor's house for a social visit, he scanned the room and found the letter in a card rack. It is also revealed that the letter was written in the Chancellor's hand, and bore his seal.
The replica letter, signed by Dupin
Claude asks Dupin how he stole the letter away from the Chancellor's home. Dupin reveals that he devised a plan that he had forgotten something from the day before, and returned to the Chancellor's home. While the Chancellor is distracted by someone shooting at his house with a pistol (actually someone paid by Dupin to cause a disturbance in the streets), Dupin - having memorized the location of the letter - carefully stole the letter, and replaces it with one almost identical to it exteriorwise, saving the Queen from further blackmail, and positioning her to make the Chancellor pay for his crimes. As Claude and Dupin celebrate, the Chancellor back home opens the letter, only to find Dupin's signature on it. Realizing that Dupin has tricked him and recovered the letter, The Chancellor then crumples the replica letter in fury.
Characters[]
- C. Auguste Dupin
- Chief Inspector
- Queen of France
- King of France
- Chancellor of France
- Claude
Adaptation[]
Trivia[]
- The original story does not directly address the Queen, King, and Chancellor, but it does center a royal family.