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The Works of Edgar Allan Poe

The Purloined Letter

by Edgar Allan Poe

An unnamed narrator tells how a Parisian detective, Auguste Dupin, solves a case of a “purloined letter.” The letter belonged to the Queen, and the man who took it had switched it with a plain letter, and was using the information contained in the stolen letter to blackmail the Queen. The police Prefect wants Dupin to figure out how to catch the man, and Dupin reasons his way through the case, eventually nabbing the thief by using his own technique against him—switching letters back.

The Grey Fairy Book

A Fairy’s Blunder

by Andrew Lang

A thoughtless fairy enchants a fountain without considering the effects of the enchantment. Beyond destroying the town, the mistake takes effect against the young wards of another fairy. The fairies try to discover a way to undo the mistake and reunite the young lovers.

Jane Eyre

Chapter XXVIII

by Charlotte Brontë

Riding in a coach, Jane quickly exhausts her meager money supply and is forced to sleep outdoors. She spends much of the night in prayer, and the following day she begs for food or a job in the nearby town. No one helps her, except for one farmer who is willing to give her a slice of bread. After another day, Jane sees a light shining from across the moors. Following it, she comes to a house. Through the window, Jane sees two young women studying German while their servant knits. From their conversation Jane learns that the servant is named Hannah and that the graceful young women are Diana and Mary. The three women are waiting for someone named St. John. Jane knocks on the door, but Hannah refuses to let her in. Collapsing on the doorstep in anguish and weakness, Jane cries, “I can but die, and I believe in God. Let me try to wait His will in silence.” A voice answers, “All men must die, but all are not condemned to meet a lingering and premature doom, such as yours would be if you perished here of want.” The voice belongs to “St. John,” who brings Jane into the house. He is the brother of Diana and Mary, and the three siblings give Jane food and shelter. They ask her some questions, and she gives them a false name: “Jane Elliott.”

Jane Eyre

Chapter XXXVII

by Charlotte Brontë

Jane goes to Ferndean. From a distance, she sees Rochester reach a hand out of the door, testing for rain. His body looks the same, but his face is desperate and disconsolate. Rochester returns inside, and Jane approaches the house. She knocks, and Mary answers the door. Inside, Jane carries a tray to Rochester, who is unable to see her. When he realizes that Jane is in the room with him, he thinks she must be a ghost or spirit speaking to him. When he catches her hand, he takes her in his arms, and she promises never to leave him. The next morning they walk through the woods, and Jane tells Rochester about her experiences the previous year. She has to assure him that she is not in love with St. John. He asks her again to marry him, and she says yes—they are now free from the specter of Bertha Mason. Rochester tells Jane that a few nights earlier, in a moment of desperation, he called out her name and thought he heard her answer. She does not wish to upset him or excite him in his fragile condition, and so she does not tell him about hearing his voice at Moor House.

Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus

Chapter 20

by Mary Shelley

Victor becomes a slave to his fears and destroys his work on the second creature incurring the wrath of the monster. The monster threatens him and Victor decides to continue on with Henry. He dumps the remains of the second creature in the ocean and is accused of a murder committed the night before.