The Cavalier's Cup
Encyclopedia
The Cavalier's Cup 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
and the final appearance of the series detective Sir Henry Merrivale and his long-time associate, Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Humphrey Masters.
During his lifetime, he etched a poem into a leaded-glass window with a diamond that is a showpiece of the historic house, along with the heavily jeweled Cavalier's Cup, a family heirloom.
When Sir Henry Merrivale and Chief Inspector Masters arrive to debunk the ghost, Masters agrees to spend the night in the Oak Room with the doors locked and windows latched.
Masters falls asleep and, when he wakes up, he finds that the Cavalier's Cup has been moved from the locked safe and left standing on a nearby table. Also, Sir Byng's sword, which was hanging outside the Oak Room, has been placed at Masters' feet.
Sir Henry and Masters must cope with Telford Old Hall's present-day inhabitants, a visiting American Congressman and Sir Henry's singing teacher in order to reveal who is behind the ghostly manifestations.
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...
and the final appearance of the series detective Sir Henry Merrivale and his long-time associate, Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Humphrey Masters.
Plot summary
At Telford Old Hall, the past is a constant reminder in the present. Long-dead Cavalier Sir Byng Rawdon still haunts the house, and lately has been making his ghostly presence known, it seems.During his lifetime, he etched a poem into a leaded-glass window with a diamond that is a showpiece of the historic house, along with the heavily jeweled Cavalier's Cup, a family heirloom.
When Sir Henry Merrivale and Chief Inspector Masters arrive to debunk the ghost, Masters agrees to spend the night in the Oak Room with the doors locked and windows latched.
Masters falls asleep and, when he wakes up, he finds that the Cavalier's Cup has been moved from the locked safe and left standing on a nearby table. Also, Sir Byng's sword, which was hanging outside the Oak Room, has been placed at Masters' feet.
Sir Henry and Masters must cope with Telford Old Hall's present-day inhabitants, a visiting American Congressman and Sir Henry's singing teacher in order to reveal who is behind the ghostly manifestations.
Publication history
- 1953, USA, William Morrow, Pub date 1953, Hardback, 263pp (first USA edition)
- 1954, UK, Heinemann, Pub date 1954, Hardback, 241pp (first UK edition)
- 1960, UK, Pan G412, Pub date 1960, Paperback, 199pp (first UK pb edition)
- 1987, USA, Zebra ISBN 0821721704, Pub date 1987, Paperback (first USA pb edition)