Literary notes about forgery (AI summary)
The term “forgery” has rich and varied connotations in literature, serving both as a literal crime and a metaphor for deceit and falsification. In detective fiction, authors like Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie use forgery to frame intricate plots and mysteries—be it a case that lands someone in legal trouble [1] or a cunning setup involving counterfeit documents [2, 3]. In historical and political narratives, forgery is invoked to question the authenticity of texts and documents, as seen in works discussing the Donation of Constantine or manipulated signatures on wills [4, 5]. At the same time, in novels by literary figures such as Dumas and Brontë, forgery often symbolizes broader themes of artifice and malign subterfuge in human relationships and institutions [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. Thus, across varied genres and eras, “forgery” not only identifies criminal deception but also becomes a powerful device to explore themes of trust, credibility, and the nature of truth [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16].
- He got himself into a fog recently over a forgery case, and that was what brought him here.”
— from A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle - “Unless this is a clever forgery to put us on the wrong scent.
— from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - Forgery.”
— from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - In the course of time the forgery of the queen’s signature was discovered.
— from Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay - The Donation of Constantine, that is, the instrument conveying these rights, was a forgery of the Middle Ages.
— from The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri - whom you have rendered the happiest of men, Comte de Wardes This note was in the first place a forgery; it was likewise an indelicacy.
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - “It is a forgery.”
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - “How can that be?” “Yes, a forgery; it is a snare to prevent your making any resistance when they come to fetch you.”
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - I write essays; and, with deliberate forgery, sign to them my pupils' names, and boast of them as their work.
— from Villette by Charlotte Brontë - Could they not see at once the crude hand of a novice in that composition they called a forgery?
— from Villette by Charlotte Brontë - the Freemasons in their unhistorical efforts had been guilty of real forgery.
— from Secret societies and subversive movements by Nesta Helen Webster - “Early eighteenth century, unless it is a forgery.”
— from The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - Competent authorities consider it a forgery, though the author was evidently well versed in the art of war.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - Although a forgery, the work is well put together.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - For this work was later proved to be a forgery made in the seventeenth century by a Jesuit missionary.
— from A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell - Others assert that it is a forgery, which was perpetrated about the year 1816.
— from The symbolism of Freemasonry : by Albert Gallatin Mackey
