The Burning Court

by John Dickson Carr

When the family found an odd piece of string, tied at equal intervals into nine knots, under Miles Despard's pillow, they dismissed this trifle from their minds.

But then the housekeeper, a normally sensible woman, told an incredible story of a beautiful woman in the old man's room - a woman who had "walked through the wall". Who could go through a door which had been bricked up and paneled over for two hundred years, leaving an old man to a hideous death?

Edward Stevens smiled at their fears of the supernatural - until he read a manuscript on female murderers. On one of the pages was a clear photograph of a woman. Under it, in small letters, had been printed:

Marie D'Aubray
Guillotined for Murder, 1861

Edward Stevens was looking at a photograph of his own wife.

Genres: Mystery, Horror, Fiction, Crime, Classics, Mystery Thriller, Detective

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

AKA Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn.

John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Burning Court by John Dickson Carr.

File this under my favorites! If you are a fan of the Golden Age of Mysteries authors and have enjoyed Locked Room (crypt) Mysteries in the past - this book is for you. This was included in the John Dickson Carr
Treasury, but I was so pleased with this entry I decided to give it a place/review of its own.

At first, I noticed that Dr. Gideon Fell was not included but another character, Inspector (Foxy Frank) Brennan was at the ready. This was a tale spun by one of the greatest storytellers for the ages. The environment is illustrated by revealing stairs that creak on their own, wall panels that tell of bygone years, and the gravel underfoot on the way to the Hendersons cottage and then the crypt.
Please be advised the depth of each character is revealed in full detail, that is until the very end.

Most highly recommended to all faithful fans of J.D.C. and storytellers par excellence.

[Simona B · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the mystery, but, sadly, the writing ruined it for me. To me, Carr's writing (having read none of his other works, I don't know whether this problem is peculiar to The Burning Court or, more generally, to Carr's style) proved unable to make each character's individuality stand out, resulting in confusion, boredom, and complete lack of interest on my part. I confess I skipped many parts and read with true attention only the last pages, obviously dedicated to the solution to the case—and what a (double-faced) solution.

[Michael Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been ranked as one of the 100 top mysteries ever written. I can understand that. A very interesting book about a man who marries a young woman and begins to think she's the incarnation of woman who was burned as a witch in the 17th century. This after some strange goings on at his home. There are two impossible crimes: one in which someone sees the murderer walk through the wall, another where the body is stolen out of a masoleum just after everyone walks out.

The ending is wonderful.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book featured a true 'locked room' mystery by which I mean the victim appears to have died inside a locked room which it was impossible for anyone to enter. Carr was the master at this sort of puzzle. This one isn't one of his Gideon Fell series but rather a very atmospheric (i.e. spooky) book set in Pennsylvania.

I really liked it up until the epilogue, which rather ruined it for me. I can't go into why without spoilers...

I really liked how Gaudin Cross figured out a non-supernatural solution to this mystery and if the book had ended there, I would have given it 4*. I could enjoy the spooky atmosphere and Stevens' doubts & fears about his wife Marie even more once a logical explanation had been produced. However, I am not a big fan of books featuring the paranormal or supernatural so when the epilogue returned me to that realm, I was very disappointed.

[Gigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Dickson Carr is a master at creating believable solutions so seemingly impossible crimes that seem to have supernatural causes. One of the things that makes his locked room mysteries page-turners is the frightening atmosphere he creates — in Burning Court there's witchcraft, a crypt, and a woman who's alive but who was supposedly put to death in the previous century.

I recently reread the book after many years, and I had such fun reading the new introduction from Dan Napolitano and getting swept up in the story once more. Highly recommended for fans of impossible crime stories.

[Ана Хелс · Rating 5 out of 5]

Мистерията на затворената стая е онзи поджанр на криминалетата, който вдъхновява най-силно малките сиви клетчици да поработят малко извънредно извън обичайните им задължения около поддържането на що-годе нормален живот. Особено ако в историята се намеси един тих повей на неестествени сили, търсещи слабите звена на реалността, за да се набъркат в делата човешки и донесат достатъчно хаос, за да преобърнат фатално не един живот. Какво ще кажете за древни вещици – отровителки, котешки амулет на Баст, армия от живи покойници и черни магии, вдъхновени от Сабат и древните богове, плюс един непрекъснато изчезващ труп, оставил след себе си значително наследство? Да, заслужава си всеки ред.

Пламтящото съдилище е специална организация за борба с тъмните магьосници – отровители, тъй като отровата се е смятала винаги за много женско, и естествено сексистко заради това – страхливо и нагло престъпление, заслужаващо далеч по-сурова присъда от обикновеното човекоубийство, под формата на сложна комбинация от самостоятелно затриващи наказания, като отсичане на главата, изгаряне и побиване на кол едновременно, да речем. Но нищо от тези изтезания не дава достатъчно дълъг резултат, тъй като едни и същи злокобни физиономии се появяват и във френския двор, и в италианските коптори, и в германските бюргерски домове, вадеща от съндъците си една и съща чудовищна магия с много арсен и беладона. И ето, че в едно имение в американската провинция, населена с потомци на стари европейски родове, патриархът на семейството умира в мъки сам, в затворена стая с предполагаеми призрачни изходи, привидно само в компанията на една стара котка, споделила съдбата и отровата на господаря си.

Подозренията плъзват по-буйно от чумави плъхове, и всички на пръв поглед са не просто виновни, а изключително мотивирани и зловещи във вината си, покрита с лек филм от мистика и недоизказани страхове, че всъщност говорим не просто за сравнително хитроумно убийство заради наследство, а за древен орден на немъртви вълшебници, ходещи мъртви и тайни проходи в самата тъкан на материята. Един ръкопис от доста извратен последовател на Поаро, опитващ се да изследва злата човешка природа от прекалено близо; една поразителна прилика със снимки от преди стотици години, и възмутително подозрително поведение на всички замесени в една малка стая, всеки с алиби и мотив едновременно, плюс кълба от тъмнина в миналото им – и коктейлът от безумие и нелогичност е готов.

До последната страница няма да сте сигурни дали четете криминален или призрачен хорър роман, даже до последния ред, след който ще сте още по-малко сигурни – самозаблуждение, душевна травма, или нереалното те гледа с огнени очи от прашния ъгъл на тавана? Всичко получава достойното си обяснение и логическа последователност, но сянката на съмнението не се вдига на финалната сцена на разкритието – даже става някак по-плътна, лепкава и душна върху знаещите от къде да не отвръщат поглед. Красива прокоба владее едно лукаво местопрестъпление… или само отваря вратите към едно нашествие от неживи слуги на рогатите богове на мрака? Въпрос на гледна точка и трошица вяра.

[Alisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A spooky, atmospheric read where very little actually happens. The “reveal” was plausible and satisfying enough, but then the epilogue turned everything upside down and (for many readers, myself included) was actually a betrayal of one of the cornerstones of detective fiction.

Penzler Publishers provided me with this digital review copy through NetGalley.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

"'Joe,' he says, 'Joe, I ain't a-skeered of any dead people, and don't you be a-skeered of any dead people, either. It's these *livin'* sons-of-bitches you want to watch out for,' he said."

I'd known the name John Dickson Carr for quite awhile but, until now, hadn't made the leap to read his work. Said leap sort of dovetailed with recently seeing the 3rd entry in the 'Knives Out' series ('Wake Up Dead Man') - in which Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc character not only references Carr but singles out the novel 'The Hollow Man'.

At that point, I had just purchased two Carr novels; 'The Hollow Man' was not one of them. (The two were 'The Plague Court Murders' and 'The Burning Court'.) Seeing 'WUDM' hastened my reading of Carr.

Oddly, though, my feeling about 'The Burning Court' is much like how I feel about 'WUDM'. While I very much enjoyed the first two entries in the 'Knives Out' series, my reaction to Part Three was less enthusiastic. I thought it was... ok... but there was something... I don't know... mechanical about it. ~ something that made me feel the film was mathematically structured in a competent way but was nevertheless lacking in 'the human element'.

I should note that there are no doubt many mystery readers (which I'm not, primarily or overwhelmingly) who will find little fault with 'The Burning Court'. It has elements of the genre (esp. in the study and elimination of suspects) that keep the story brisk and lively for mystery fans.

As well, 'TBC' is noteworthy for its subordinate character of author Gaudan Cross, a very peculiar personage expert in all things smelling of witchcraft:

"Young man, I am seventy-five. I have studied more criminal cases than a man of a hundred and seventy-five ought to have studied. That was partly because I had a firsthand opportunity: I spent twenty years in prison."

"That is the difference between financiers and authors. Financiers make money and then go to prison. Authors go to prison and then make money."

However, as interesting as Cross can be as a character (he's given the novel's best lines of dialogue), there's also something... distancing about him.

~ but not only him. Carr's ability with character-building often feels frustratingly superficial (at least to me). Unlike a writer like Agatha Christie, Carr's characters feel much less real; like they're being put through their paces by the author, instead of living and breathing.

(Speaking of Christie... there's one particular plot element in 'TBC' - published in 1937 - which seems to strongly echo a similar element that Christie had used in 1933 in 'Lord Edgware Dies'.)

It's that lack of a 'living and breathing' element that kept me more removed from Carr's story. I felt a little bored by the structure of it all (esp. near the end, when yet another increase in over-explaining everything also increased my weariness).

A standout for me was the section that had its historical focus on witchcraft; that was rather compelling and eerie. That said, I can't say I totally bought into Carr's ultimate 'payoff'. It certainly runs against expectation (and has a certain allure) but my not being in sync with the novel's tone in general didn't help my overall impression.

[Puzzle Doctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at classicmystery.blog

[Frederick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read very few mysteries. I can count the ones I have read on one and a half hands. I shall reserve the fourth half-hand for science fiction.
John Dickson Carr was an American mystery writer in the mid-20th-century. THE BURNING COURT is methodical, solid and educational. It is not scandalous, giddy or brutal. I imagine Carr's audience, which was sizeable, was made up of doctors, lawyers and professors. ("Members of the U.M.C.," as Bob Segar might sing.) I don't think such an audience exists today.
I'm as muddle-brained and the next person, so, all I can say is I learned SOMETHING about the French and the practice of witch-burning from this novel. I didn't retain much. The plot involves a detective doing his thing against a macabre and only seemingly supernatural background. If that's a spoiler you'll hate this book anyway. Its thrills are those of atmosphere leavened by stolid narrative. (Just now, I've looked up "stolid" in THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY. I did this to see if I was using the word properly. Somewhat to my surprise, I was. I love the sample sentence the dictionary provides, courtesy of Thornton Wilder: "They suffered the eternal pleasantries with stolid patience.")
John Dickson Carr was quite a good writer. But Conan Doyle is still the go-to guy for a good, night-time walk in the fog. John Dickson Carr was absolutely realistic. But I can't muster a jot of affection for Gideon Fell, his detective. That said, I can't deny that this is a respectable book.

[Nathaniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Widely considered to be the best non-series novel Carr ever wrote, this is a curious mixture of horror and intrigue. The scenario is a tantalizing one, having to do with the disappearance of a body from a sealed crypt, but the real hook for many readers (including yours truly) is the suggestion of the diabolical. This turns out to be both a blessing and a bane. On the one hand, Carr keeps a tight lid on the sensational plot, withholding full disclosure until the last possible moment, demonstrating his ability as a master plotter. On the other hand, the air of supernatural menace (Carr's secret spice) is localized to a few key scenes, and never persuasively commingles with the traditional whodunit trappings. Though Carr acknowledges the influence of M.R. James, he is, in the end, a writer of mysteries, not horror stories. The detailed and somewhat plodding reconstruction of the crime is clever enough, but with the exception of the deliciously pompous Gaudan Cross (a parody of an elitist author), the characters are merely names on a page, and the setting (rural Pennsylvania) could just as well have been Anyplace.

The ending makes the book. It satisfies the loose threads of the story at one fell swoop, and with enough teasing ambiguity to linger in the memory.

[Josefina Wagner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Çok gençken okuduğum bir kitaptı okuduğumda çok korktuğumu ve kitabı ilginç bulduğumu hatırlıyorum. Aradan 50 den fazla sene geçti bu okuduğumda o zamanlar nasıl beğenmiş olduğumu anlayamadığım bir eser. Yinede merak ederek okudum fazla bir şey kalmamış aklımda yaşayan ölüler haricinde bir meşhur huni olayı.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is John Dickson Carr at his puzzling, ingenious, and atmospheric best, with a sensational, stunning ending. The set-up sounds like a standard "golden age" mystery plot: a wealthy man is murdered, apparently by poison in a locked room. Subsequently his body disappears from a seemingly impregnable family crypt. The author, the master of the locked-room mystery genre, surprises us, however, with different characters (his familiar series detectives do not appear), a different setting (rural Pennsylvania rather than Britain), and most importantly, a different type of logic in the case's solution. I don't want to be more specific than that so as not to spoil the conclusion.

The novel's main character is well-drawn and faces a very relatable and intense conflict over his efforts to keep his marriage together and both understand and protect his, he fears, troubled and in-trouble wife. The critic Julian Symons, in his insightful survey of crime fiction BLOODY MURDER, writes that Carr's fiction for the most part lacks "genuine feeling" (though he generally praises Carr highly). I can see how one could have this impression of Carr, because the coldly calculated puzzles are what one remembers most about his fiction, and are what he is justly most famous for. I think this criticism is off the mark, though, and this book illustrates why. We do vividly feel the narrator's love for his wife, growing panic at his quandry, and other moments of fear and exhilaration. Carr may be a master craftsman, but in this and many of his fine novels, his work is hardly cold or unfeeling.

I can see why some Carr fans object both to the somewhat atypically dark tone of the ending of this controversial & divisive novel as well as its internal logic, which are so different from those of most of the Carr/Dickson novels that his readers know and love. But to me that is rather the point--what is especially great about the author's books is that while we expect a certain type of characterization and plot development from him, sometimes he deliberately crosses us up! Carr was a master of the mystery novel form, and part of his mastery was his ability to play with readers' expectations and then subvert them, often with stunning effect, as in this classic, one-of-a-kind book.

[سیاوش فتحعلی · Rating 5 out of 5]

خب؛ صد و یازدهمین کتاب ثبت ده ر سایت گودریدز.
لابد تا الآن دوستان عزیز متوجه سلیقه بنده در کتابها شدند و بیشتر از آن هم متوجه آسان نگرفتن اینجانب در کیفیت این آثار شدند.
با تمام این اوصاف؛ جان دیکسون کار فوق‌العادست!
طراحی داستانی جنایی و معمایی با پیرنگ ماوراء الطبیعه، کاری بود که فقط از استاد بزرگ ژانر سر آرتور کانن دویل برمیآمد و دیکسون کار؛ در زمانی که استاد بزرگ، علاقه اش نسبت به مسائل ماوراءالطبیعه رو به فزونی گذاشت و وقت خود را صرف تحقیق و تفحص و نگارش کتابی در مورد احضار ارواح کرد؛ همچون شاگردی توانا، خلاق و استثنایی، پا از مرزهای استاد خویش فراتر گذاشت و اینبار جنایت فقط بوی ماوراءالطبیعه نمیداد؛ بلکه این دو با هم تلفیق شده بودند.
تلفیقی کاملا منطقی، بدور از غیر واقعی و فانتزی شدن فضا.
پرداخت خوب به افسانه ها و فابل ها و همچنین وقایع واقعی اتفاق افتاده در گذشته های دور؛ همگی در خدمت قلم توانمند نویسنده ایست که در انتهای تمام فصول، از اولین فصل تا آخرین فصل کتاب، غافلگیری ای هوشمندانه و نفسگیر برای مخاطب در آستین دارد.
کتاب بسیار بسیار خوبی بود.
و حیف و صد حیف که از این نویسنده تنها دو کتاب دیگر ترجمه شده که یکی از آن دو هم بسیار نایاب است.
و باز حیف که ترجمه این کتاب، علاوه بر داشتن قسمتهایی گنگ و نامفهوم؛ سانسورها و حذفیاتی غیر ضروری و غیر منطقی داشت که کمی مخاطب را از اشتها می انداخت.
اما، این کتاب را توصیه میکنم و صد البته دیگر آثار این نویسنده را.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: are supernatural things happening? The housekeeper talks about a lovely woman walking through walls. Edward Stevens is skeptical.

[Ben Loory · Rating 4 out of 5]

found this on the karl edward wagner 3x13 list:

http://miskatonicbooks.wordpress.com/...

it's basically a 3-star locked room / impossible crime-type mystery until the epilogue, which explodes the whole thing into something much better. something which will maybe live forever? or not. a long time, anyway. forever is tough.

but it's nice to see someone really nail an ending.

[Nancy Butts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book engrossed but puzzled me; it couldn’t seem to decide what it wanted to be, a mystery or horror novel. And rather than blend the two genres, it seemed to jump back and forth between them. This would make more sense if I could be more specific, but if I did that, I would create some howling spoilers, so I will refrain.

[Jennifer Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine, although implausible, until the epilogue, which ruins the whole thing.

[Любопитка · Rating 2 out of 5]

Дали заради високите очаквания или прякото сравнение с Агата Кристи, тази книга изобщо не ми хареса. До един момент имаше заплитане на интрига и загадка за разкриване, включиха се мистични и магьоснически мотиви, които обещаваха интересна развръзка. Но уви, в следващия момент развръзката беше поднесена набързо, доста скалъпено и неубедително. Нямаше нищо изненадващо, а по-скоро зле нагласени събития, които уж да доведат до кулуминацията. И макар да бях не особено впечатлена от книгата, то бих и дала прилична оценка до момента, в който не прочетох епилога. Описаното в него продължение на историята ме разочарова и съсвсем затвърди негативното ми отношение.

Може да съм твърде крайна в оценката си заради високите си първоначални очаквания или пък заради желанието да прочета едно класическо добро криминале. Вместо това все попадам на истории със свръх естествени сили като тази на Пол Дохърти, та живите мъртавци и поклонниците на Сатаната ми дойдоха в повече.

Не знам дали ще дам повече шанс на този автор, но определено продължавам да издирвам добро криминале и се надявам на препоръки.

https://prezprozoreca.wordpress.com/2...

[Henrik Brynildsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helt OK gammeldags krim. Tidvis spennende, til tider søkt. Carr klarer å skape en spennende atmosfære som gir "drakulske" assosiasjoner.

Jeg foretrekker Agatha Christie sine ungdomsromaner og -noveller om Poirot, men Dickinson Carr har en forfriskende, voksen og mer moderne stil.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who let him cook

[Ron Kastner · Rating 3 out of 5]

In spite of what many reviewers have said, i did not find the surprise conclusion satisfactory or credible. It also needed a bit more activity and less talk. Not one of Carr's finest hours i would say.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am dissatisfied with something about the book. I'm trying to put my finger on it, but having some difficulty. By the middle of the story, I would have rated it a 4; however, I felt uneasy towards the end and once I finished the book. Perhaps it was the mood, perhaps it was the incomplete impression or anti-climactic finale. As a locked-room mystery, I was initially eager to access this book; with all the hype surrounding this celebrated author, I should have been wow-ed; however, I was not.

The story leaves a lot of loose ends: What happened to Mark Despard? Did the maid Jeannette White/Myra Corbett actually poison the author Gaudin Cross, or was it somehow Marie Stevens? Did they in fact, find the remains of Miles Despard in the furnace? I was curious and expectant as to Edith Despard's reaction to the conclusion; why didn't they reveal anything there (aside from seemingly neutral remarks)? What's the deal with Marie (who I assume is the woman in the epilogue) and her spookiness: Is she actually a witch, some reincarnation, just a crazy person?

This was my first Carr book. The back cover praises The Burning Court as possibly his best non-series writing. I'm uneasy with the proclamation due to my review: Does this mean, then, I may not find his other (non-series) books interesting? How will I react to his series?

As an aside, the back cover conveys a beautiful woman is seen, yet within the story the woman's face is actually not seen/visible, according to the witness (Mrs. Henderson)! Also, the character who turns out to be that woman is described throughout the book as pretty, but I never got the impression that she was 'beautiful'.

[Pietro De Palma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The other book Todorov said was
The other book along with "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" by Agatha Christie Todorov said to be the only example of fantastic literature in the literature of the detective genre. Not surprisingly,"The Bourning Court" is truly a masterpiece, one of the greatest of Carr and of every time.
It's a historical mystery, with a Locked Room, a case of reincarnation, and a setting learned in the times of King Louis XIV.
The novel basically talks about the affair of the poisons ( the case of the Marquise de Brinvilliers and of her lover, the Chevalier Gaudin de Saint-Croix ): two hundred years later when a woman turns out to be the reincarnation (or should be) of the Marquise de Brinvilliers , with all that then ensues, among which a Locked Room. The novel is also famous for the double final who rationally interprets the facts or explains them in fantastic. It can be said that it is unique in the carrian production , although there are time lags in other novels, from "Fire, Burn!" to "The Devil in Velvet."

[Isadora Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impossible puzzler with a distinctly Daphne du Maurier-esque ending, which is why I picked up the book, having read about it in The Fantastic (Todorov). Carr is a vivid and deft writer; one of the more curious and interesting aspects of his work was seeing the conventions of the British mystery plot (and personages, motifs, right down to use of clothes and stations/relations, town and house as shorthand) portaged over to the U.S. The Burning Court is set in the 1970s somewhere outside New York. Really a fun and informative read for students of mystery and the uncanny.

[Graham Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me from the first page, when I discovered that - unlike almost all of Carr's other works - it's set in America and features only Americans. I'm not going to say much about the plot, but the twin impossible crimes featured here are lucidly explained at the end.

I found the writing in this one to be the best of all Carr's books. The tone in the others sometimes seems forced to me, with Carr reaching a bit too far to suggest menace or humor, but there are no wrong notes here. I'm a big fan of Carr's series work, but I think this non-series book is probably his masterpiece.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost gave this a 5. This is the first I've read by Carr, a prolific 1930's 'Golden Age' mystery writer, and I really enjoyed the detailed, intricate plotting (which I understand is his trademark). An impossible crime setup with great atmosphere and macabre coincidences. Toss the word 'supernatural' into the description and it becomes a little clearer why this was considered controversial when it was first released. Subverted expectations excellently executed (alliteration FTW).

[Aman Kalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Patricia Highsmith , i was in search of an author who was as good. And i found one in Great John Dickson Carr aka Carter Dickson.

Awesome story, gripping, unputdownable & last 3 pages sent a chill through my bones.

One of the best i have read till date.

[Lynn Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is very well written; unfortunately, he does try to give a supernatural explanation for some mysterious occurrences. It will give you goose-bumps when you are hit with the strange "coincidences" and eerie atmosphere - especially the opening of the crypt in the middle of the night. The ending is completely satisfying.

[Kestrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps the spookiest of Carr's mysteries; highly recommended if you enjoy mysteries with gothic overtones. The usual warning applies, however: Carr's attitudes concerning women and what he would probably have described as the lower classes is quite dated, so you will probably want to skip this if those attitudes make you crazy.