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1Dead Letter

By Metta Victoria Fuller Victor

Published in 1866, "The Dead Letter: An American Romance" written by Metta Victoria Fuller Victor under the pseudonym, Seeley Regester, is credited by historians of popular literature to be the first full-length American crime fiction novel. The writing is melodramatic in places and includes opinions typical of the time period, but is an enjoyable, early example of the genre. The novel begins with Richard Redfield, a clerk in the "Dead Letter Office," opening an unclaimed letter. Upon reading the contents, he is convinced that the message relates to the events of a night two years prior when another young man was brutally murdered. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)

Few men have lived in modern times whose life history is so suggestive as that of Abraham Lincoln. Not that he should have stepped from a log-cabin to the national capitol, though that fact, of itself, might challenge our liveliest interest; but that, out of the very discouraging circumstances which surrounded his years to manhood, he should have come forth with a well-stored mind, a large and humanitarian soul, and perceptions which led him unerringly forward to his high destiny — that is a result so remarkable as to render the story of his life one of the highest significance...<br> In the production of this work we have had before us the several biographies already well known to readers. But these were prepared for partisan purposes chiefly, they have been found lacking in the material which we most desired — the facts of his boyhood and student days, and the narrative of his first steps in public life. These we have had to gather more from men, from letters and from newspapers than from books; and if we have failed in producing such a work as we designed, it has been less from lack of data than from our neglect to properly use what was at our disposal. - Summary by Orville J. Victor from the original book

3Eleven Years in the Rocky Mountains and Life on the Frontier

By Frances A. Fuller Victor

This lively book follows the adventures of mountain man Joe Meek, from his joining the Rocky Mountain Fur Company trapping expedition in the year 1829 at the young age of 18, through his retirement from public life after serving as Marshall of Oregon Territory. Meek had close connections with many famous people of the era, such as Kit Carson, William and Milton Sublette, Jedediah Smith, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, Dr. John McLaughlin, Oregon’s Governor Lane, and President James Polk. The author’s information came directly from interviews with Joe himself. She adds to his stories by recounting the surrounding events of the times along the way, providing an interesting way to pick up much information about the history of the Rocky Mountain region and the Oregon Territory. Meek was a tremendously colorful personality who traveled all over the wild west, and had numberless adventures. His endurance of hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and danger was legendary. Whether he was encountering bears, Indians, fellow trappers, missionaries, California gold miners, and even the president of the United States, he tells the story with humor and aplomb. Meek was always lively, often drunk, sometimes heroic, and certainly no saint. - Summary by Carol Pelster