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Lädt ... The Dead Letter: An American Romance (1866)von Seeley Regester
Lädt ...
Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. This is a very early detective novel--like many novels of the period it has some major coincidences as foundational to the plot. A lost letter that is key to the solution just happens to be opened by a key character--really, out of hundred such--but it was Providential. A full ration of national prejudices appear as well: superstitious Irish, violent Mexicans--no wily Chinese, the main character didn't have occasion to visit Chinatown while in San Francisco. Incredibly a private detective is allowed by the police to retain key pieces of evidence and the murderer is allowed to (spoiler alert) walk free after his coerced confession. Interesting as a historical piece but cannot be recommended for any other reason. It is considered the first full length work of crime fiction published in the US. The author was Metta Victoria Fuller Victor, who published over 100 works in a variety of genres including an abolitionist work praised by Lincoln. Zeige 3 von 3 keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
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Classic Literature.
Fiction.
Mystery.
Historical Fiction.
HTML: "Another triumph with this pioneering crime novel."â??Publishers Weekly The sixth book in the Library of Congress Crime Classics, an exciting new classic mystery series created in exclusive partnership with the Library of Congress. This classic crime fiction mystery features a love triangle with a murderous twist. An undelivered letter with a cryptic message holds the key to an unsolved murder When Henry Moreland is found dead on a lonely New York road after a violent storm, it seems he died of natural causes while walking to the home of his betrothed, Eleanor Argyll. An examination of the corpse reveals, however, that he was killed by a single, powerful stab wound. His wallet was untouched, eliminating robbery as the motiveâ??but who would want to murder the well-liked and respected man? Richard Redfield, an old family friend who harbors a secret love for Eleanor, vows to bring Henry's killer to justice. Richard soon finds himself out of his element. Together with a legendary detective named Mr. Burton, he embarks on an unsuccessful mission to find the murderer. When suspicion turns to Richard himself, he leaves the family behind and goes to work in the "Dead Letter" office in Washington. Then a mysterious letter from the past turns up, and a new hunt begins... This twisting tale is the first full-length American detective novel, written under a pseudonym by Metta Victor in the 1860s. It revived American crime fiction, which had languished after Edgar Allan Poe's short stories of the 1840s. Combining elements of Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone and the "sensation" novels popular in England, it opened the doors for generations of American crime writers to follow Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.4Literature English (North America) American fiction Later 19th Century 1861-1900Klassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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The Dead Letter includes a bit of the paranormal—one of our detectives and his daughter are able to "read" people and scenes through physical evidence—but that paranormal plays second fiddle to real-thing mystery. The novel has an ambitious structure. It opens in a dead-letter office, where an unusual bit of correspondence has the narrator thinking back on a mystery that tore his life apart—flash back first to that story, flash back next to a more recent bit of that same story, then flash forward to a post-dead letter finale.
You will probably figure out who dunnit well before the end of the novel, but the author keeps things tense nonetheless. Will evil prevail? What will be the fate of our honorable hero? Will the innocent young maids avoid entanglements with scoundrels? The detectives, of course, are men. Travels from New York to San Francisco and Acapulco are involved, which leads to some deeply biased portrayals of Latinx characters. The author was a product of her time.
The Dead Letter is an interesting read, and not just because it marked the beginnings of U.S. mystery novels. It's well worth a read—particularly for those who like historical fiction—and it's left me eager to read the next volume in this series.
I received a free copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus; the opinions are my own. ( )