The Curse of the Bronze Lamp
Encyclopedia
The Curse of the Bronze Lamp (also published as Lord of the Sorcerers) is a mystery
novel by the American
writer John Dickson Carr
(1906–1977), who published it under the name of Carter Dickson. It is a locked room mystery
or, more properly, a subset of that category known as an "impossible crime", and features the series detective Sir Henry Merrivale.
In defiance of the dire predictions of an Egyptian soothsayer, she brings the lamp back to Severn Hall, her ancestral home in England. At the door, Helen stepped out of the car, leaving her friends to follow her into the Hall.
Less than three minutes later, they did—and Helen had vanished. On the floor, in the middle of the vast entrance hall, were her coat and the bronze lamp.
Luckily, Sir Henry Merrivale is nearby and unafraid of any and all spirits and soothsayers; after another murder shocks the inhabitants of Severn Hall, he solves both the disappearance and the murder.
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
novel by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer John Dickson Carr
John Dickson Carr
John Dickson Carr was an American author of detective stories, who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn....
(1906–1977), who published it under the name of Carter Dickson. It is a locked room mystery
Locked room mystery
The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under apparently impossible circumstances. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene that no intruder could have entered or left, e.g., a locked room...
or, more properly, a subset of that category known as an "impossible crime", and features the series detective Sir Henry Merrivale.
Plot summary
Lady Helen Loring doesn't believe in the ancient Egyptian curse associated with an ancient artifact, a bronze lamp that is a gift from the Egyptian government. It comes from a tomb that Helen and her father, Lord Severn, helped excavate.In defiance of the dire predictions of an Egyptian soothsayer, she brings the lamp back to Severn Hall, her ancestral home in England. At the door, Helen stepped out of the car, leaving her friends to follow her into the Hall.
Less than three minutes later, they did—and Helen had vanished. On the floor, in the middle of the vast entrance hall, were her coat and the bronze lamp.
Luckily, Sir Henry Merrivale is nearby and unafraid of any and all spirits and soothsayers; after another murder shocks the inhabitants of Severn Hall, he solves both the disappearance and the murder.