The Burning Court [Paperback]

John Dickson Carr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1985

A classic tale combining hints of the supernatural and an 'impossible' murder. The death of Miles Despard looks simple enough. But then how does the housekeeper see a woman walk through a wall? And how could someone walk through a door that had been bricked up two hundred years ago? To all intents and purposes, it looks as if someone has come from the past to commit the murder, but could that really be the case? Surely not . . .

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘Very few detective stories baffle me nowadays, but Mr Carr’s always do’ - Agatha Christie

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Born in 1906, John Dickson Carr was an American author of Golden Age 'British-style' detective stories. He published his first novel, It Walks by Night, in 1930 while studying in Paris to become a barrister. Shortly thereafter he settled in his wife's native England where he wrote prolifically, averaging four novels per year until the end of WWII. Well-known as a master of the locked-room mystery, Carr created eccentric sleuths to solve apparently impossible crimes. His two most popular series detectives were Dr. Fell, who debuted in Hag's Nook in 1933, and barrister Sir Henry Merrivale (published under the pseudonym of Carter Dickson), who first appeared in The Plague Court Murders (1934). Eventually, Carr left England and moved to South Carolina where he continued to write, publishing several more novels and contributing a regular column to Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. In his lifetime, Carr received the Mystery Writers of America's highest honor, the Grand Master Award, and was one of only two Americans ever admitted into the prestigious - but almost exclusively British - Detection Club. He died in 1977.  --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Intl Polygonics Ltd (December 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930330277
• ISBN-13: 978-0930330279
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,247,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Among Carr's Best - Supernatural Elements Heighten Suspense, July 22, 2006

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Burning Court (Paperback)

The title, The Burning Court (1937), derives from the infamous Burning Court that extracted confessions from alleged witches through the use of the wheel and fire during the reign of Louis XIV. However, the setting for this story is not France, but in a small community outside Philadelphia in the spring of 1929.

John Dickson Carr remains famous for his ingenious (perhaps some would say too ingenious) locked room mysteries. The Burning Court mystery offers not one, but two locked rooms: first, a woman in seventeenth century dress is seen walking through a wall where a now bricked-up door once existed, and second, a recently buried body goes missing from a securely sealed, underground crypt. The atmosphere is one of horror and dread. The two occurrences defy logical analysis.

The Burning Court is among the best stories of John Dickson Carr, even though it is atypical in that Carr's legendary investigators (Dr. Gideon Fell, Sir Henry Merrivale, and Henri Ben Colin) are all absent. The capable Captain Brennan of the Philadelphia Police Department and the eccentric author-amateur detective, Gaudan Cross, appear in only this one story.

The Burning Court is completely typical, however, in that the solution is well beyond the reach of the reader. Over fifty pages the section titled Summing-Up slowly unravels these two related locked room puzzles. This summation is actually a continuation of the story in that new, critical information is revealed that helps disperse the supernatural fog. Likewise, this apparently complicated murder is shown to be quite straight-forward, but coincidental events (as often happens in a Carr story, and sometimes in life too) obfuscated matters to a remarkable extent.

The Burning Court is a fascinating story that makes enjoyable reading. Nonetheless, it is always fair to ask whether a John Dickson Carr solution is really fair. Carr has a tendency to withhold key information essential to the solution. The solutions to the two locked room puzzles in my view strayed into that gray area separating fairness from unfairness. (In a footnote Carr does refer the reader to past pages, suggesting that he might have recognized that he overly disguised his clues.)

In a final twist Carr reveals a second solution, a solution within a solution, just when the reader thinks this mystery is finally solved. Four stars to The Burning Court.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing would have prepared me for this one, July 24, 2011

By 

Jim Davis (St. Charles, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Burning Court (Kindle Edition)

This is very much like Carr's previous detective stories in *most* respects. The problems are perplexing and well thought out. The characters are believable and interesting, whether sympathetic or not. The suspense builds steadily making the book hard to put down (I managed, twice). The story is fast paced, taking place from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, with flashbacks of previous events interspersed with much to-ing and fro-ing.

It also differs in a number of respects. It's set in America, not Britain. No Fell or Merrivale, so there is no real anchor for the reader to hold fast to. The supernatural, although present in other Carr books, is really overpowering here. Finally, the ending is controversial, and not to all tastes. It is also open to more than one interpretation. Carr was trying something different here. In my opinion, he largely succeeds.

There is also some historical background given, duly footnoted. Not having any of the quoted references to hand, I reread "The Slow Poisoners" chapter in MacKay's "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" to get the flavor of the history he was making use of.

I read the Kindle edition. Absolutely no issues to note. Usually there is something no matter how minor but everything here worked well. Linked table of contents, linked footnotes, everything.

All in all, creepier than the Carr books I've read hitherto but still quite enjoyable. Opinions differ on this book, but if you've enjoyed Carr's other works you have to read this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun and interesting read, August 22, 2008

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Burning Court (Paperback)

A man makes a strange discovery - it seems that his wife bears a striking resemblance to a French woman who had been tried and executed for murder years ago. And to make matters worse, she even had the same name! The man's boss's uncle died under mysterious circumstance, and a witness points to a woman in an old French dress. Just what is going on here? It will take a detective of no small ability to get to the bottom of this mystery!

John Dickson Carr (1906-77) is remembered as one of the great Golden Age writers of American detective stories. This book is one of his more controversial - combining good old fashioned detective literature with supernatural fiction. Overall, I found this to be a fun and interesting read. Sure, if you are expecting Sherlock Holmes, you might be disappointed, but if you like strange and fascinating stories, then I think that you will like it - I know I did!