The Mass-Market Publishing Industry in America
In the mid-1820s, Poe was among numerous writers on the East Coast submitting their works to the burgeoning mass-market publishing sector. Advancements in transportation, paper production, and printing technologies facilitated the establishment of various newspapers, magazines, and book publishers, attracting a host of writers and editors eager to participate.

Copyright Issues for American Authors
During these initial years of publishing, American authors lacked robust copyright protection, a concern that writers like Poe fervently advocated for. Without the ability to safeguard their works from being plagiarized or reprinted without consent, authors noticed the value of their works diminished after the first publication. Consequently, many writers guarded their unpublished works to negotiate higher payments for the initial release. Poe satirized this practice in his story, "The Purloined Letter," where the narrator remarks that it is the "possession, and not any employment of the letter, which bestows the power." Terence Whalen, in his essay, "The American Publishing Industry," states, "Regardless of what it may have meant to the queen, the stolen letter retains its power only so long as its contents remain secret." Whalen further notes that through this depiction of the letter, Poe "develops the tendencies of the capitalist publishing industry to a logical and perverse extreme."

Political Manipulations
The election of President Andrew Jackson in 1828 introduced competitive new strategies into presidential campaigns. J. Gerald Kennedy, in his article, "Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1849: A Brief Biography," notes that "the contest of 1828 had transformed presidential elections forever by introducing national political tactics" and "fierce partisanship." This partisanship extended into governance, as Jackson began to "reward allies and punish enemies."

In the story, Dupin is also a political manipulator, using his recovery of the letter as a strategic political move. "You know my political prepossessions," Dupin tells the narrator. "In this matter, I act as a partisan of the lady concerned." In addition to retrieving the letter to stop the Minister from blackmailing the queen, Dupin orchestrates the situation so that the Minister will "commit himself, at once, to his political destruction."

The Rise of Rationalism
Poe begins his story by stating it takes place in the "autumn of 18–—." Given that the story was published in 1844, this likely indicates the general period he intended for the setting, particularly as the story exhibits the type of rational thought prevalent during that era.

During the 1830s, when Poe began publishing many of his short stories, several significant developments occurred. In England in 1833, inventor Charles Babbage conceptualized the "analytical engine," a theoretical device for performing calculations. This machine, which used a system of punched cards to provide instructions, eventually contributed to the development of the modern computer.

In 1838, two years later, a New York scientist named Charles A. Spencer brought the first microscope to America. While microscopes had existed in various forms around the world since the first rudimentary one was created in the Netherlands in 1590, its arrival in America opened up numerous applications.

In 1839, Louis Daguerre from France unveiled the daguerreotype, an early form of photography that allowed people to create precise reproductions of life. Prior to this innovation, reproductions were dependent on the individual artist's interpretation.

Edgar Allan Poe is often hailed as the father of the modern detective story, thanks to his creation of the astute character C. Auguste Dupin. Dupin’s unique blend of mystery, civilian authority, and deductive prowess laid the groundwork for numerous literary and cinematic detectives to follow. Poe's short story, "The Purloined Letter," exemplifies these traits while employing clever literary techniques such as foreshadowing and exposition to captivate readers.

Influence on Detective Fiction

1840s: Samuel Morse, an American portrait painter, invents Morse Code, a system of dots and spaces that the United States government uses to keep messages confidential from its political adversaries.

Today: The United States develops increasingly sophisticated methods to secure communications and employs mathematicians to decipher the codes of other nations.

Early 1840s: Frenchman Louis Daguerre, a scene-painter, creates the daguerreotype, a technique that uses a lens and light, along with a chemical reaction, to capture precise images. The initial daguerreotypes are primarily used for landscapes—including the first photograph of Paris—and portraits.

Today: Photography encompasses various forms, including digital, and is utilized in numerous educational, artistic, medical, and scientific fields. Photographs also serve as evidence in many police investigations and criminal trials.

Early 1840s: In the absence of strictly enforced copyright laws, American authors protect their writings to enhance the value of their works upon first publication, as magazines often reproduce them without permission.

Today: With the rise of the Internet and online publishing, it has become easier than ever to access many copyrighted works for free. Consequently, legal cases and debates over intellectual property issues have surged dramatically.

"The Purloined Letter" was turned into an audiocassette format in 1986 by Spoken Arts.

In 2000, ''The Purloined Letter'' was also converted into a full-cast audiocassette production as part of Edgar Allan Poe's Stories & Tales II, released by Monterey Soundworks. This audio compilation additionally features Poe's "The Black Cat," "The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether," and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."

Sources
Asselineau, Roger, "Edgar Allan Poe," in American Writers, Vol. 3, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1974, pp. 409-32.

Buranelli, Vincent, "Chapter 3: Return to Reality," in Edgar Allan Poe, in Twayne's United States Authors Series Online, G. K. Hall & Co., 1999.

Buranelli, Vincent, "Chapter 4: Fiction Themes," in Edgar Allan Poe, in Twayne's United States Authors Series Online, G. K. Hall & Co., 1999.

Carlson, Eric W., "Edgar Allan Poe," in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 74: American Short-Story Writers Before 1880, edited by Bobby Ellen Kimbel and William E. Grant, Gale Research, 1988, pp. 303-22.

Colton, George, "Poe's Tales," in the American Review, Vol. II, No. III, September 1845, pp. 306-309.

Graham, Kenneth, Introduction, in Selected Tales, Oxford University Press, 1967, pp. vii-xxii.

Kennedy, J. Gerald, "Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1849: A Brief Biography," in A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe, edited by J. Gerald Kennedy, Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 26.

Marlowe, Stephen, Introduction, in The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales, Signet Classic, 1998, p. xii.

Stedman, Edmund Clarence, "Edgar Allan Poe," in Scribner's Monthly, Vol. XX, May-October 1880, pp. 107-24.

Stevenson, Robert Louis, "Literature: 'The Works of Edgar Allan Poe,'" in the Academy, Vol. VII, No. 139, January 2, 1879, pp. 1-2.

Thompson, G. R., "Edgar Allan Poe," in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 3: Antebellum Writers in New York and the South, edited by Joel Myerson, Gale Research, 1979, pp. 249-97.

Whalen, Terence, "Poe and the American Publishing Industry," in A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe, edited by J. Gerald Kennedy, Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 87.

Further Reading
Quinn, Arthur Hobson, Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1941.
This comprehensive 832-page volume, reprinted in 1997, is regarded by many as the definitive study of Poe during its era. Born in 1875, Quinn aimed to restore Poe's reputation. His detailed examination of Poe's life, unlike many other biographies that relied on conjecture, was grounded in meticulous research of the Poe family archive.

Silverman, Kenneth, Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance, HarperPerennial Library, 1992. Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer for The Life and Times of Cotton Mather.
Silverman explores Poe's life, highlighting that he was among the first generation of professional American writers. The book also includes extensive appendices and notes for further research.

Sova, Dawn B., Edgar Allan Poe, A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work, Literary A to Z Series, Checkmark Books, 2001.
This encyclopedic work offers detailed entries on all facets of Poe's life, including influences from people, places, and publications. It also covers twentieth-century film and musical adaptations, chronologies of Poe's life and works, a list of Poe research collections, and a bibliography.

Walsh, John Evangelist, Midnight Dreary: The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, St. Martin's Press, 2000.
The circumstances of Poe's death remain enigmatic, with various theories proposed to explain it. In this book, Walsh reconstructs Poe's final days, presenting several leading theories regarding his mysterious end.