Dead Letter

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By Listen TheBook Posted on May 31, 2023

In Category - Crime & Mystery Fiction

Authors: Metta Victoria Fuller Victor In Year : 1867

Book Language: English

Audiobook: Dead Letter

Part I: The Letter
Events of a Night
The Figure Beneath the Trees
Moreland Villa
Mr. Burton, the Detective, part 1
Mr. Burton, the Detective, part 2
Two Links in the Chain
Eleanor
The Haunted Grave, part 1
The Haunted Grave, part 2
The Spider and the Fly
The Anniversary, part 1
The Anniversary, part 2
The Little Guest and the Apparition, part 1
The Little Guest and the Apparition, part 2
The Night in Moreland Villa
The Shadow Assumes Shape
Part II: The Letter
Our Visits
The Confession
Embarked for California
On the Trail
At Last -- At Last
Now for Home Again
The Ripe Hour
Joining the Missing Links
The New Life

Published in 1866, "The Dead Letter: An American Romance" written by Metta Victoria Fuller Victor under the pseudonym, Seeley Regester, is credited by historians of popular literature to be the first full-length American crime fiction novel. The writing is melodramatic in places and includes opinions typical of the time period, but is an enjoyable, early example of the genre. The novel begins with Richard Redfield, a clerk in the "Dead Letter Office," opening an unclaimed letter. Upon reading the contents, he is convinced that the message relates to the events of a night two years prior when another young man was brutally murdered. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)