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The Dead Letter by Metta Victor, book cover
Detective Books PDF EPUB Audio

The Dead Letter

by Metta Victor

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Under 100
First published
1866
Pages
221
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Listen to The Dead Letter Audiobook Free

Read by J. M. Smallheer · 8 h 39 min · 27 parts

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  1. Part I: The Letter

    3:59

  2. Events of a Night

    19:34

  3. The Figure Beneath the Trees

    19:56

  4. Moreland Villa

    24:24

  5. Mr. Burton, the Detective, part 1

    21:34

  6. Mr. Burton, the Detective, part 2

    19:24

  7. Two Links in the Chain

    23:42

  8. Eleanor

    14:05

  9. The Haunted Grave, part 1

    19:51

  10. The Haunted Grave, part 2

    16:39

  11. The Spider and the Fly

    30:45

  12. The Anniversary, part 1

    25:57

  13. The Anniversary, part 2

    12:33

  14. The Little Guest and the Apparition, part 1

    17:36

  15. The Little Guest and the Apparition, part 2

    22:42

  16. The Night in Moreland Villa

    19:22

  17. The Shadow Assumes Shape

    18:23

  18. Part II: The Letter

    23:57

  19. Our Visits

    27:50

  20. The Confession

    26:09

  21. Embarked for California

    15:20

  22. On the Trail

    14:55

  23. At Last -- At Last

    27:56

  24. Now for Home Again

    7:51

  25. The Ripe Hour

    22:35

  26. Joining the Missing Links

    14:35

  27. The New Life

    7:39

The Dead Letter (1867) is a public domain work.

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About this book

Often called the first full-length detective novel by an American, and by a woman at that, Metta Victor's mystery opens with the murder of Henry Moreland on the eve of his wedding. The crime goes unsolved for years until a clerk stumbles on an undelivered letter in a dead-letter office, reviving the trail. The investigator Mr. Burton takes up the case with patient reasoning and methods that were startling for the 1860s, including help from a clairvoyant. Around the puzzle Victor weaves a tale of thwarted love, buried guilt, and a household guarding its secrets. Published under the pen name Seeley Regester, it helped set the template for American crime fiction. First serialized in 1866. Free to read here in PDF and EPUB.

About the author

Metta Victor

Metta Victor (1831-1885) was an American writer and one of the most prolific authors of dime novels. Often working under pseudonyms such as Seeley Regester, she wrote across many genres and produced The Dead Letter, an early landmark of American detective fiction.

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Public domain book This work is in the public domain and free of copyright. Anyone may read, download and share it.

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Book facts

First published
1866
Reading time
About 7 hours
Pages
221
Language
English
Formats
PDF, EPUB, Read online, Audiobook
Audio read by
J. M. Smallheer