The Mirror of Nitocris

"The Mirror of Nitocris" is a Cthulhu Mythos story by Brian Lumley that introduces the character of Henri-Laurent de Marigny--later better known as Titus Crow's chief companion and chronicler. It is the only story written by Lumley in which de Marigny is the main character. It first appeared in Lumley's collection The Caller of the Black (Arkham House, 1971).
==Synopsis==
De Marigny acquires a legendary mirror that once belonged to the monstrous Egyptian Queen Nitocris--and just barely escapes its malign influence.
==Characters==
*Henri-Laurent de Marigny: An occultist and self-described "romantic fool." He attributes his "love of dark mysteries and obscure and antique wonders" as an inheritance from "my world-famous father, the great New Orleans mystic Etienne-Laurent de Marigny." His library includes books by "Geoffrey, Poe, d’Erlette, and Prinn."
*Nitocris: "A sixth-dynasty Queen who ruled her terror-stricken subjects with a will of supernatural iron from her seat at Gizeh." She is the subject of a book by Wardle called Notes on Nitocris.
*Bannister Brown-Farley: An "explorer-hunter-archaeologist who, before his recent disappearance, was a recognized connoisseur of rare and obscure objets d’art."
*Abu Ben Reis: An "old Arab" whose "home tribe was a band of rovers wandering far to the west, beyond the great desert. He tells Brown-Farley of the tomb where the Mirror of Nitocris may be found.
*Baron Kant: The "witch-hunting Baron" whose silver pistol de Marigny possesses.
==Publication History==
After its initial appearance in The Caller of the Black, "The Mirror of Nitocris" was reprinted in the April 1984 issue of the magazine Imagine. It was later included in Lumley's collections The Compleat Crow (W. Paul Ganley, 1987), Fruiting Bodies and Other Fungi (Roc UK/Tor, 1993), and Haggopian and Other Stories (Subterranean Press, 2008).Internet Speculative Fiction Database, "Title: The Mirror of Nitocris."
A French translation appeared (as "Le mirroir de Nitoctis") in Phénix #41 (1997).
==References==
Category:Brian Lumley works
Category:Expanded Mythos Works