
A curious traveler from England finds himself drawn into a bustling market in an ancient city, where a seemingly ordinary oil lamp catches his eye. The merchant who sells it claims the lamp holds a secret, and before long the newcomer discovers that the lamp’s shadow hides a restless spirit bound to serve whoever possesses it. Intrigued and uneasy, he takes the lamp back to his lodgings, only to notice strange occurrences—whispers in the night, inexplicable drafts, and a sudden fascination from a mysterious local woman who knows more than she lets on.
As the mystery deepens, the traveler is pulled between the allure of wealth promised by the lamp’s hidden powers and the growing sense that he has become a pawn in a centuries‑old rivalry. Friendships are tested, loyalties shift, and the line between freedom and servitude blurs, forcing him to confront what it truly means to be a “slave of the lamp.
Language
en
Duration
~7 hours (437K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Text file produced by Jonathan Ingram, Véronique Durand, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team HTML file produced by David Widger
Release date
2005-10-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1862–1903
Known for brisk adventure stories and popular late-Victorian novels, this English writer published under the name Henry Seton Merriman and found a wide readership with books like The Sowers. His fiction often blends romance, politics, and travel with a fast-moving, old-world storytelling style.
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