The Lamp of God
Encyclopedia
The Lamp of God is a novella
that was written in 1935 by Ellery Queen
. It was originally published in Detective Story Magazine
in 1935 and first published in book form as part of The New Adventures of Ellery Queen in 1940. It is included here separately because of its stand-alone publication as #23 in the Dell Ten-Cent Editions in 1951.
from an ocean liner arriving from England. She learns that her father, from whom she has been separated since her toddler years, has died just as she is to be reunited with her eccentric family and inherit her father's fabled hoard of gold. The group drives for hours to reach an ugly and sinister Victorian house called the Black House at nightfall.
The Black House, where her father died, is uninhabitable—the group meets the family and beds down in a small stone house next door. When they awake, the Black House has vanished as though it never existed. Ellery must shake off the Gothic trappings and the suggestions of black magic in order to figure out what has happened to the Black House and the gold.
.) After nine popular mystery novels and the first of many movies, the character of Ellery Queen was at this point firmly established. This novella was among the first shorter fictional pieces to feature Ellery Queen. This period in the Ellery Queen canon
signals a change in the type of story told, moving away from the intricate puzzle mystery format that had been a hallmark of the nine previous novels, each with a nationality in their title and a "Challenge to the Reader" immediately before the solution was revealed. Both the "nationality title" and the "Challenge to the Reader" disappear at this point in the canon.
"The best of (Ellery Queen's) short stories belong to the early intensely ratiocinative period, and both The Adventures of Ellery Queen
(1934) and The New Adventures of Ellery Queen (1940) are as absolutely fair and totally puzzling as the most passionate devotee of orthodoxy could wish. ... (Every) story in these books is composed with wonderful skill."
The "Dell 10¢ Book" series, of which this was #23, was a short-lived experiment by Dell Books in 1951. At 64 pages and a cover price of US10¢, this is a typical entry in the 36-title series. This novella has never again been published separately and is usually found contained in The New Adventures of Ellery Queen (1940), a collection of shorter works.
This novella was included by John Dickson Carr
in 1946 among the ten best mystery stories ever written.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
that was written in 1935 by Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...
. It was originally published in Detective Story Magazine
Detective Story Magazine
Detective Story Magazine was an American magazine published by Street & Smith from October 15, 1915 to Summer, 1949 . The first pulp magazine devoted to detective fiction, it consisted of short stories and serials....
in 1935 and first published in book form as part of The New Adventures of Ellery Queen in 1940. It is included here separately because of its stand-alone publication as #23 in the Dell Ten-Cent Editions in 1951.
Plot summary
Ellery Queen is asked by a lawyer friend to help protect the interests of a pretty young heiress. They meet her, along with an unpleasant physician who is a friend of her family, as she disembarks in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
from an ocean liner arriving from England. She learns that her father, from whom she has been separated since her toddler years, has died just as she is to be reunited with her eccentric family and inherit her father's fabled hoard of gold. The group drives for hours to reach an ugly and sinister Victorian house called the Black House at nightfall.
The Black House, where her father died, is uninhabitable—the group meets the family and beds down in a small stone house next door. When they awake, the Black House has vanished as though it never existed. Ellery must shake off the Gothic trappings and the suggestions of black magic in order to figure out what has happened to the Black House and the gold.
Literary significance & criticism
(See Ellery QueenEllery Queen
Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...
.) After nine popular mystery novels and the first of many movies, the character of Ellery Queen was at this point firmly established. This novella was among the first shorter fictional pieces to feature Ellery Queen. This period in the Ellery Queen canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
signals a change in the type of story told, moving away from the intricate puzzle mystery format that had been a hallmark of the nine previous novels, each with a nationality in their title and a "Challenge to the Reader" immediately before the solution was revealed. Both the "nationality title" and the "Challenge to the Reader" disappear at this point in the canon.
"The best of (Ellery Queen's) short stories belong to the early intensely ratiocinative period, and both The Adventures of Ellery Queen
The Adventures of Ellery Queen
The Adventures of Ellery Queen is the title of a radio series and four separate television series made from the 1950s through the 1970s. They were based on the fictional character and pseudonymous writer Ellery Queen.-Radio:...
(1934) and The New Adventures of Ellery Queen (1940) are as absolutely fair and totally puzzling as the most passionate devotee of orthodoxy could wish. ... (Every) story in these books is composed with wonderful skill."
The "Dell 10¢ Book" series, of which this was #23, was a short-lived experiment by Dell Books in 1951. At 64 pages and a cover price of US10¢, this is a typical entry in the 36-title series. This novella has never again been published separately and is usually found contained in The New Adventures of Ellery Queen (1940), a collection of shorter works.
This novella was included by 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....
in 1946 among the ten best mystery stories ever written.