The Curse of the Bronze Lamp

Mystery novel by John Dickson Carr

The Curse of the Bronze Lamp (also published as *Lord of the Sorcerers*)
First edition (US)
Author	John Dickson Carr writing as "Carter Dickson"
Language	English
Series	Henry Merrivale
Genre	Mystery, detective
Publisher	Morrow (US 1945) Heinemann (UK, 1946)
Publication date	1945
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	214 (first US edition)
Preceded by	He Wouldn't Kill Patience
Followed by	My Late Wives

The Curse of the Bronze Lamp (also published as Lord of the Sorcerers) is a mystery novel by the American writer John Dickson Carr, 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. Carr considered this one of his best impossible crime novels.

Plot summary

Lady Helen Loring does not 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 a murder shocks the inhabitants of Severn Hall, he solves both the disappearance and the murder.

Works by John Dickson Carr

Sir Henry Merrivale series

Novels	The Plague Court Murders (1934) The White Priory Murders (1934) The Red Widow Murders (1935) The Unicorn Murders (1935) The Punch and Judy Murders (1936) The Ten Teacups (1937) The Judas Window (1938) Death in Five Boxes (1938) The Reader is Warned (1939) And So to Murder (1940) Murder in the Submarine Zone (1940) Seeing is Believing (1941) The Gilded Man (1942) She Died a Lady (1943) He Wouldn't Kill Patience (1944) The Curse of the Bronze Lamp (1945) My Late Wives (1946) The Skeleton in the Clock (1948) A Graveyard to Let (1949) Night at the Mocking Widow (1950) Behind the Crimson Blind (1952) The Cavalier's Cup (1953)
Short stories	Merrivale, March and Murder (1991)

Novels

The Plague Court Murders (1934)
The White Priory Murders (1934)
The Red Widow Murders (1935)
The Unicorn Murders (1935)
The Punch and Judy Murders (1936)
The Ten Teacups (1937)
The Judas Window (1938)
Death in Five Boxes (1938)
The Reader is Warned (1939)
And So to Murder (1940)
Murder in the Submarine Zone (1940)
Seeing is Believing (1941)
The Gilded Man (1942)
She Died a Lady (1943)
He Wouldn't Kill Patience (1944)
The Curse of the Bronze Lamp (1945)
My Late Wives (1946)
The Skeleton in the Clock (1948)
A Graveyard to Let (1949)
Night at the Mocking Widow (1950)
Behind the Crimson Blind (1952)
The Cavalier's Cup (1953)

Short stories

Merrivale, March and Murder (1991)

Gideon Fell series

Novels	Hag's Nook (1933) The Mad Hatter Mystery (1933) The Eight of Swords (1934) The Blind Barber (1934) Death-Watch (1935) The Hollow Man (1935) The Arabian Nights Murder (1936) To Wake the Dead (1938) The Crooked Hinge (1938) The Black Spectacles (1939) The Problem of the Wire Cage (1939) The Man Who Could Not Shudder (1940) The Case of the Constant Suicides (1941) Death Turns the Tables (1941) Till Death Do Us Part (1944) He Who Whispers (1946) The Sleeping Sphinx (1947) Below Suspicion (1949) The Dead Man's Knock (1958) In Spite of Thunder (1960) The House at Satan's Elbow (1965) Panic in Box C (1966) Dark of the Moon (1968)
Short story collections	Dr. Fell, Detective, and Other Stories (1947) The Men Who Explained Miracles (1963) Fell and Foul Play (1991)

Novels

Hag's Nook (1933)
The Mad Hatter Mystery (1933)
The Eight of Swords (1934)
The Blind Barber (1934)
Death-Watch (1935)
The Hollow Man (1935)
The Arabian Nights Murder (1936)
To Wake the Dead (1938)
The Crooked Hinge (1938)
The Black Spectacles (1939)
The Problem of the Wire Cage (1939)
The Man Who Could Not Shudder (1940)
The Case of the Constant Suicides (1941)
Death Turns the Tables (1941)
Till Death Do Us Part (1944)
He Who Whispers (1946)
The Sleeping Sphinx (1947)
Below Suspicion (1949)
The Dead Man's Knock (1958)
In Spite of Thunder (1960)
The House at Satan's Elbow (1965)
Panic in Box C (1966)
Dark of the Moon (1968)

Short story
collections

Dr. Fell, Detective, and Other Stories (1947)
The Men Who Explained Miracles (1963)
Fell and Foul Play (1991)

Henri Bencolin series

Novels	It Walks By Night (1930) Castle Skull (1931) The Lost Gallows (1931) The Waxworks Murder (1932) The Four False Weapons (1937)
Short stories	"The Shadow of the Goat" "The Fourth Suspect" "The End of Justice" "Murder in Number Four"

Other novels

As John Dickson Carr	Poison in Jest (1932) The Burning Court (1937) The Emperor's Snuff-Box (1942) The Bride of Newgate (1950) The Devil in Velvet (1951) The Nine Wrong Answers (1952) Captain Cut-Throat (1955) Patrick Butler for the Defense (1956) Fire, Burn! (1957) Scandal at High Chimneys (1959) The Witch of the Low Tide (1961) The Demoniacs (1962) Most Secret (1964) Papa La-Bas (1968) The Ghosts' High Noon (1970) Deadly Hall (1971) The Hungry Goblin (1972)
As Carter Dickson	The Bowstring Murders (1934) The Third Bullet (1937) Drop to His Death (1939) The Department of Queer Complaints (1940) Fear Is the Same (1956)

As John Dickson Carr