"The purloined letter" summary | Summaries Literature

'The Purloined Letter' summary

Poe and 'The Purloined Letter'

While American author Edgar Allan Poe is most famous for his Gothic and American Romantic poems and

short stories, such as 'The Raven,' he also helped invent the modern detective story. His three detective

stories, the third of which is 'The Purloined Letter,' feature C. Auguste Dupin. Although his detective stories

are not as widely discussed as his Gothic stories and poems, they remain a formative example of detective

stories to this day. It was first published in 1845 and made Poe twelve dollars.

Short summary

Since 'The Purloined Letter' is the third story in which detective C. Auguste Dupin stars, his character has

already been introduced, and Edgar Allan Poe leaps right into the action. C. Auguste Dupin is discussing his

closed cases with the narrator when they are interrupted by the arrival of the Paris Prefect of the Police, G.

Unsurprisingly, the Prefect has a case for Dupin.

As the title of the story suggests, a letter has been stolen. The letter belongs to an unnamed female. The

letter's contents are being used by Minister D to blackmail the woman.

The Prefect tells Dupin that he believes that the letter's contents are still a secret because it is being used to

exploit the woman and not destroy the woman's reputation. He also believes that Minister D has the letter on

his person because it is the only way to protect the letter and utilize it as blackmail.

Unfortunately, a thorough search of Minister D's hotel has turned up nothing. Prefect describes the letter, and

Dupin commits both the letter's description and all the other pertinent information to memory.

The story skips ahead a month. The Prefect is still searching for the letter. He offers Dupin 50,000 francs

(part of the reward money for the letter's return) if he can assist him. Dupin accepts the award money, then

produces the letter, which he has already found.

Dupin explains to the narrator how he tracked down the letter. He says that the police underestimated

Minister D because he writes poetry. Dupin visited Minister D in his hotel room. Instead of having hid the

letter, Minister D left it out in the open. He did take some pains to disguise it, though. He wrote a different

address on the opposite side of the letter. Dupin stole the letter, after swapping it out with a fake that

included the following note: 'If such a sinister design isn't worthy of Atreus, it is worthy of Thyestes.'

Long summary

In a small room in Paris, an unnamed narrator, who also narrates “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” sits

quietly with his friend, C. Auguste Dupin. He ponders the murders in the Rue Morgue, which Dupin solved

in that story. Monsieur G——, the prefect of the Paris police, arrives, having decided to consult Dupin again.

The prefect presents a case that is almost too simple: a letter has been taken from the royal apartments. The

police know who has taken it: the Minister D——, an important government official. According to the

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'The Purloined Letter' summary

Poe and 'The Purloined Letter'

While American author Edgar Allan Poe is most famous for his Gothic and American Romantic poems and short stories, such as 'The Raven,' he also helped invent the modern detective story. His three detective stories, the third of which is 'The Purloined Letter,' feature C. Auguste Dupin. Although his detective stories are not as widely discussed as his Gothic stories and poems, they remain a formative example of detective stories to this day. It was first published in 1845 and made Poe twelve dollars.

Short summary

Since 'The Purloined Letter' is the third story in which detective C. Auguste Dupin stars, his character has already been introduced, and Edgar Allan Poe leaps right into the action. C. Auguste Dupin is discussing his closed cases with the narrator when they are interrupted by the arrival of the Paris Prefect of the Police, G. Unsurprisingly, the Prefect has a case for Dupin. As the title of the story suggests, a letter has been stolen. The letter belongs to an unnamed female. The letter's contents are being used by Minister D to blackmail the woman. The Prefect tells Dupin that he believes that the letter's contents are still a secret because it is being used to exploit the woman and not destroy the woman's reputation. He also believes that Minister D has the letter on his person because it is the only way to protect the letter and utilize it as blackmail. Unfortunately, a thorough search of Minister D's hotel has turned up nothing. Prefect describes the letter, and Dupin commits both the letter's description and all the other pertinent information to memory. The story skips ahead a month. The Prefect is still searching for the letter. He offers Dupin 50,000 francs (part of the reward money for the letter's return) if he can assist him. Dupin accepts the award money, then produces the letter, which he has already found. Dupin explains to the narrator how he tracked down the letter. He says that the police underestimated Minister D because he writes poetry. Dupin visited Minister D in his hotel room. Instead of having hid the letter, Minister D left it out in the open. He did take some pains to disguise it, though. He wrote a different address on the opposite side of the letter. Dupin stole the letter, after swapping it out with a fake that included the following note: 'If such a sinister design isn't worthy of Atreus, it is worthy of Thyestes.'

Long summary

In a small room in Paris, an unnamed narrator, who also narrates “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” sits quietly with his friend, C. Auguste Dupin. He ponders the murders in the Rue Morgue, which Dupin solved in that story. Monsieur G——, the prefect of the Paris police, arrives, having decided to consult Dupin again. The prefect presents a case that is almost too simple: a letter has been taken from the royal apartments. The police know who has taken it: the Minister D——, an important government official. According to the

prefect, a young lady possessed the letter, which contains information that could harm a powerful individual. When the young lady was first reading the letter, the man whom it concerned came into the royal apartments. Not wanting to arouse his suspicion, she put it down on a table next to her. The sinister Minister D—— then walked in and noted the letter’s contents. Quickly grasping the seriousness of the situation, he produced a letter of his own that resembled the important letter. He left his own letter next to the original one as he began to talk of Parisian affairs. Finally, as he prepared to leave the apartment, he purposely retrieved the lady’s letter in place of his own. Now, the prefect explains, the Minister D—— possesses a great deal of power over the lady. Dupin asks whether the police have searched the Minister’s residence, arguing that since the power of the letter derives from its being readily available, it must be in his apartment. The prefect responds that they have searched the Minister’s residence but have not located the letter. He recounts the search procedure, during which the police systematically searched every inch of the hotel. In addition, the letter could not be hidden on the Minister’s body because the police have searched him as well. The prefect mentions that he is willing to search long and hard because the reward offered in the case is so generous. Upon Dupin’s request, the prefect reads him a physical description of the letter. Dupin suggests that the police search again.

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'The Purloined Letter' summary

Poe and 'The Purloined Letter'

Short summary

Long summary

One month later, Dupin and the narrator are again sitting together when the prefect visits. The

prefect admits that he cannot find the letter, even though the reward has increased. The prefect says

that he will pay 50,00 0 francs to anyone who obtains the letter for him. Dupin tells him to write a

check for that amount on the spot. Upon receipt of the check, Dupin hands over the letter. The

prefect rushes off to return it to its rightful owner, and Dupin explains how he obtained the letter.

Dupin admits that the police are skilled investigators according to their own principles. He explains

this remark by describing a young boy playing “even and odd.” In this game, each player must

guess whether the number of things (usually toys) held by another player is even or odd. If the

guesser is right, he gets one of the toys. If he is wrong, he loses a toy of his own. The boy whom

Dupin describes plays the game well because he bases his guesses on the knowledge of his

opponent. When he faces difficulty, he imitates the facial expression of his opponent, as though to

understand what he thinks and feels. With this knowledge, he often guesses correctly. Dupin argues

that the Paris police do not use this strategy and therefore could not find the letter: the police think

only to look for a letter in places where they themselves might hide it.