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144 pages

English

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Joseph Lewis French introduces his edition of detective stories with the statement: "We did not readily realize what Poe had done when he created Auguste Dupin." Detective fiction is indeed a recent literary tradition, and French's collection celebrates it with writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins and Arthur Conan Doyle.

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Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 juin 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781775418269
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0164€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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DETECTIVE STORIES
MASTERPIECES OF MYSTERY
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Edited by
JOSEPH LEWIS FRENCH

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Detective Stories Masterpieces of Mystery First published in 1920 ISBN 978-1-775418-26-9 © 2010 The Floating Press
While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike.
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Contents
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Note Foreword I - The Purloined Letter II - The Black Hand III - The Biter Bit IV - Missing: Page Thirteen V - A Scandal in Bohemia VI - The Rope of Fear VII - The Safety Match VIII - Some Scotland Yard Stories Endnotes
Note
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The Editor desires especially to acknowledge assistance in granting theuse of original material, and for helpful advice and suggestion, toProfessor Brander Matthews of Columbia University, to Mrs. AnnaKatherine Green Rohlfs, to Cleveland Moffett, to Arthur Reeve, creatorof "Craig Kennedy," to Wilbur Daniel Steele, to Ralph Adams Cram, toChester Bailey Fernald, to Brian Brown, to Mrs. Lillian M. Robins of thepublisher's office, and to Charles E. Farrington of the Brooklyn PublicLibrary.
Foreword
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The honour of founding the modern detective story belongs to an Americanwriter. Such tales as "The Purloined Letter" and "The Murders in the RueMorgue" still stand unrivalled.
We in America no more than the world of letters at large, did notreadily realize what Poe had done when he created Auguste Dupin—theprototype of Sherlock Holmes et genus omnes , up to the present hour.On Poe's work is built the whole school of French detective storywriters. Conan Doyle derived his inspiration from them in turn, and ourAmerican writers of to-day are helped from both French and Englishsources. It is rare enough to find the detective in fiction even to-day,however, who is not lacking in one supreme quality,—scientificimagination. Auguste Dupin had it. Dickens, had he lived a short timelonger, might have turned his genius in this direction. The last thinghe wrote was the "Mystery of Edwin Drood," the mystery of which is stillunravelled. I have heard the opinion expressed by an eminent livingwriter that had Dickens' life been prolonged he would probably havebecome the greatest master of the detective story, except Poe.
The detective story heretofore has been based upon one of two methods:analysis or deduction. The former was Poe's, to take the typicalexample; the latter is Conan Doyle's. Of late the discoveries of sciencehave been brought into play in this field of fiction with notableresults. The most prominent of such innovators, indeed the first one, isArthur Reeve, an American writer, whose "Black Hand" will be found inthis collection; which has endeavoured within its limited space to coverthe field from the start—the detective story—wholly the outgrowth ofthe more highly developed police methods which have sprung into beingwithin little more than half a century, being only so old.
JOSEPH LEWIS FRENCH.
I - The Purloined Letter
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EDGAR ALLAN POE
Nil sapientiæ odiosius acumine nimio.—SENECA.
At Paris, just after dark one gusty evening in the autumn of 18—, I wasenjoying the twofold luxury of meditation and meerschaum, in companywith my friend, C. Auguste Dupin, in his little back library, orbook-closet, au troisième , No. 33 Rue Dunôt, Faubourg St. Germain. Forone hour at least we had maintained a profound silence; while each, toany casual observer, might have seemed intently and exclusively occupiedwith the curling eddies of smoke that oppressed the atmosphere of thechamber. For myself, however, I was mentally discussing certain topicswhich had formed matter for conversation between us at an earlier periodof the evening; I mean the affair of the Rue Morgue and the mysteryattending the murder of Marie Roget. I looked upon it, therefore, assomething of a coincidence, when the door of our apartment was thrownopen and admitted our old acquaintance, Monsieur G—, the Prefect ofthe Parisian police.
We gave him a hearty welcome; for there was nearly half as much of theentertaining as of the contemptible about the man, and we had not seenhim for several years. We had been sitting in the dark, and Dupin nowarose for the purpose of lighting a lamp, but sat down again, withoutdoing so, upon G—'s saying that he had called to consult us, orrather to ask the opinion of my friend, about some official businesswhich had occasioned a great deal of trouble.
"If it is any point requiring reflection," observed Dupin, as he forboreto enkindle the wick, "we shall examine it to better purpose in thedark."
"That is another of your odd notions," said the Prefect, who had thefashion of calling everything "odd" that was beyond his comprehension,and thus lived amid an absolute legion of "oddities."
"Very true," said Dupin, as he supplied his visitor with a pipe androlled toward him a comfortable chair.
"And what is the difficulty now?" I asked. "Nothing more in theassassination way, I hope?"
"Oh, no; nothing of that nature. The fact is, the business is verysimple indeed, and I make no doubt that we can manage it sufficientlywell ourselves; but then I thought Dupin would like to hear the detailsof it, because it is so excessively odd."
"Simple and odd?" said Dupin.
"Why, yes; and not exactly that either. The fact is, we have all been agood deal puzzled because the affair is so simple, and yet baffles usaltogether."
"Perhaps it is the very simplicity of the thing which puts you atfault," said my friend.
"What nonsense you do talk!" replied the Prefect, laughing heartily.
"Perhaps the mystery is a little too plain," said Dupin.
"Oh, good heavens! who ever heard of such an idea?"
"A little too self-evident."
"Ha! ha! ha!—ha! ha! ha!—ho! ho! ho!" roared our visitor, profoundlyamused. "Oh, Dupin, you will be the death of me yet!"
"And what, after all, is the matter on hand?" I asked.
"Why, I will tell you," replied the Prefect, as he gave a long, steady,and contemplative puff and settled himself in his chair,—"I will tellyou in a few words; but, before I begin, let me caution you that this isan affair demanding the greatest secrecy, and that I should mostprobably lose the position I now hold were it known that I confided itto anyone."
"Proceed," said I.
"Or not," said Dupin.
"Well, then; I have received personal information, from a very highquarter, that a certain document of the last importance has beenpurloined from the royal apartments. The individual who purloined it isknown—this beyond a doubt; he was seen to take it. It is known, also,that it still remains in his possession."
"How is this known?" asked Dupin.
"It is clearly inferred," replied the Prefect, "from the nature of thedocument and from the non-appearance of certain results which would atonce arise from its passing out of the robber's possession, that is tosay, from his employing it as he must design in the end to employ it."
"Be a little more explicit," I said.
"Well, I may venture so far as to say that the paper gives its holder acertain power in a certain quarter where such power is immenselyvaluable." The Prefect was fond of the cant of diplomacy.
"Still I do not quite understand," said Dupin.
"No? Well; the disclosure of the document to a third person, who shallbe nameless, would bring in question the honour of a personage of mostexalted station; and this fact gives the holder of the document anascendency over the illustrious personage whose honour and peace are sojeopardized."
"But this ascendency," I interposed, "would depend upon the robber'sknowledge of the loser's knowledge of the robber. Who would dare—"
"The thief," said G—, "is the Minister D—, who dares all things,those unbecoming as well as those becoming a man. The method of thetheft was not less ingenious than bold. The document in question,—aletter, to be frank,—had been received by the personage robbed whilealone in the royal boudoir. During its perusal she was suddenlyinterrupted by the entrance of the other exalted personage from whomespecially it was her wish to conceal it. After a hurried and vainendeavour to thrust it in a drawer, she was forced to place it, open asit was, upon a table. The address, however, was uppermost, and, thecontents thus unexposed, the letter escaped notice. At this junctureenters the Minister D—. His lynx eye immediately perceives the paper,recognizes the handwriting of the address, observes the confusion of thepersonage addressed, and fathoms her secret. After some businesstransactions, hurried through in his ordinary manner, he produces aletter somewhat similar to the one in question, opens it, pretends toread it, and then places it in close juxtaposition to the other. Againhe converses for some fifteen minutes upon the public affairs. At length,in taking leave, he takes also from the table the letter to which he hadno claim. Its rightful owner saw, but, of course, dared not callattention to the act, in the presence of the third personage, who stoodat her elbow. The Minister decamped, leaving his own letter, one of noimportance, upon the table."
"Here, then," said Dupin to me, "you have precisely what you demand tomake the ascendency complete, the robber's knowledge of the loser'sknowledge of the robber."
"Yes," replied the Prefect; "and the power thus attained has, for somemonths past, been wielded, for political purposes, to a very dangerousextent. The personage robbed is more thoroughly convinced every day ofthe necessity of reclaiming her letter. But this, of course, cannot bedone openly. In fine, driven to despair, she has committed the matter tome."
"Than whom," said Dupin,