The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, along with a discussion of Poe’s contribution to the genre of detective fiction. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 18-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Edgar Allan Poe
• Presentation of The Purloined Letter
• Summary of The Purloined Letter
• Character study
  • The narrator
  • Dupin
• Analysis of The Purloined Letter
  • Character map
  • Plot outline
  • The detective story

About The Purloined Letter

The Purloined Letter is the third of Edgar Allan Poe’s three stories featuring the fictional detective Auguste Dupin, following The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Mystery of Marie Rogêt. As the title suggests, it tells the story of a stolen letter. This letter belongs to an unnamed member of the royal family, and could seriously compromise her position if made public. Despite their best efforts, the police are unable to locate the letter, so they turn to Dupin, who uses his impressive reasoning skills to find it with ease.

About Edgar Allan Poe 

The American poet and novelist Edgar Allan Poe is known above all for his mysterious and atmospheric short stories, and is considered as both the forerunner of modern detective fiction and one of the pioneers of science fiction and fantasy writing. His most famous works include The Purloined Letter, The Fall of the House of Usher and The Tell-Tale Heart. His stories are often macabre, and frequently focus on themes such as death, scientific progress and revenge. Poe died in 1849 at the age of 40, leaving behind dozens of short stories, multiple novels, several essays, a number of poetry collections and an unfinished play.