Dead Letter

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.

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Metta Victoria Fuller Victor (1831-1885) was an American novelist. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, she moved with her parents to Wooster, Ohio in 1839. There, she was enrolled at a female seminary with her sister Frances, who would later become a successful novelist and historian. After publishing stories in local newspapers, the two sisters moved to New York City to pursue their literary interests in earnest. There, Metta married publisher Orville James Victor and worked as an editor for several Beadle & Company publications. Using the pen-name Seeley Regester, she published dozens of successful dime novels. The Dead Letter (1867) has been recognized by scholars as the first full-length work of crime fiction in American literary history.