Metta Victoria Fuller Victor's Books

The Dead Letter (1867) is a detective novel by Metta Victoria Fuller Victor. Published under the pseudonym Seeley Regester, The Dead Letter is the first full-length work of crime fiction in American literature. “I paused suddenly in my work. Over a year’s experience in the Dead Letter office had given a mechanical rapidity to my movements in opening, noting and classifying the contents of the bundles before me [...] Young ladies whose love letters have gone astray, evil men whose plans have been confided in writing to their confederates, may feel but little apprehension of the prying eyes of the Department.” Richard Redfield is accustomed to boredom in his role as inspector at the post office’s dead letter department. Tasked with reviewing the contents of undeliverable letters, Redfield is shocked to discover a clue to the death of his friend two years prior. With the help of Detective Burton, Redfield sets out to uncover the truth, which he hopes will provide belated justice for Henry and peace for his bereaved fiancée Eleanor. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Metta Victoria Fuller Victor’s The Dead Letter is a classic of American crime fiction reimagined for modern readers.

With our American Philosophy and Religion series, Applewood reissues many primary sources published throughout American history. Through these books, scholars, interpreters, students, and non-academics alike can see the thoughts and beliefs of Americans who came before us.

John A rgyll, Esq., in his company, to take tea and spend the evening in his family. I was a law-student in the office, and was favored with more than ordinary kindness by him, on account of a friendship that had existed between him and my deceased father. When young men, they had started out in life together, in equal circumstances ;one had died early, just as fortune began to smile ;the other lived to continue in well-earned prosperity. Mr. Argyll had never ceased to take.an interest in the orphan son of his friend. He had aided my mother in giving me a collegiate education, and had taken me into his office to complete my law studies.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.

Before Raymond Chandler, before Dorothy Sayers or Agatha Christie, there was Metta Fuller Victor, the first American author—man or woman—of a full-length detective novel. This novel, The Dead Letter, is presented here along with another of Victor’s mysteries, The Figure Eight. Both written in the 1860s and published under the name Seeley Regester, these novels show how—by combining conventions of the mystery form first developed by Edgar Allan Poe with those of the domestic novel—Victor pioneered the domestic detective story and paved the way for generations of writers to follow. In The Dead Letter, Henry Moreland is killed by a single stab to the back. Against a background of post–Civil War politics, Richard Redfield, a young attorney, helps Burton, a legendary New York City detective, unravel the crime. In The Figure Eight, Joe Meredith undertakes a series of adventures and assumes a number of disguises to solve the mystery of the murder of his uncle and regain the lost fortune of his angelic cousin.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

Reproduction of the original.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

Alice Wilde: The Raftman's Daughter By Metta V. Victor

Book's by Metta Victoria Fuller Victor

The Dead Letter

The Dead Letter

Lives of Female Mormons

Lives of Female Mormons

The Dead Letter

The Dead Letter

A Bad Boy's Diary

A Bad Boy's Diary

The Dead Letter and The Figure Eight

The Dead Letter and The Figure Eight

Nat Wolfe; Or, The Gold Hunters, A romance of Pike's Peak and New York

Nat Wolfe; Or, The Gold Hunters, A romance of Pike's Peak and New York

Nat Wolfe; Or, The Gold Hunters

Nat Wolfe; Or, The Gold Hunters

Nat Wolfe; Or, The Gold Hunters, A romance of Pike's Peak and New York

Nat Wolfe; Or, The Gold Hunters, A romance of Pike's Peak and New York

Alice Wilde

Alice Wilde

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