The Cavalier's Cup

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 in novel form of the series detective Sir Henry Merrivale and his long-time associate, Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Humphrey Masters.

The Cavalier's Cup
First US edition dustjacket
AuthorJohn Dickson Carr
writing as Carter Dickson
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
SeriesHenry Merrivale
GenreMystery
PublisherMorrow (US, 1953, first edition)
Heinemann (UK, 1954)
Publication date
1953
Pages263 (first US hardback ed)
Preceded byBehind the Crimson Blind 
Followed byFear is the Same 

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, US, William Morrow, Pub date 1953, Hardback, 263pp (first US 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, US, Zebra ISBN 0-8217-2170-4, Pub date 1987, Paperback (first US pb edition)


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