- Murder in Canton
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Murder in Canton 
1st edition (UK)Author(s) Robert van Gulik Series Judge Dee Genre(s) Mystery, Detective Novel Publisher Heinemann Publication date 1966 Media type Print (Paperback) Pages 207 ISBN 0226848744 OCLC Number 28292445 Dewey Decimal 823/.914 20 LC Classification PR9130.G8 M87 1993 Preceded by The Willow Pattern Followed by The Phantom of the Temple Murder in Canton is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China (roughly speaking the Tang Dynasty). It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee (Ti Jen-chieh or Di Renjie), a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.
The book contains twelve illustrations and a map of Canton by the author.
Plot introduction
Judge Dee is now the most senior judge in all of China and his authority is little less than that of the Emperor himself. Canton is the most important trading port in the country, filled with merchants from many other lands, some as far away as India and Baghdad. When one of the secretive but very powerful Imperial censors goes missing in Canton, Judge Dee must come to the city in disguise and investigate. He is aided by a beautiful blind girl who collects crickets.
This is the last story in the internal chronology of Judge Dee.
Literary significance and criticism
"Published in the year before his death, this tale by the distinguished Sinologist takes Judge Dee to a setting new for him and deals with crime in a style closer to that of his first good ones. The unraveling of the political intrigue and love affairs is as subtle as the plot is complex, and modernity and antiquity are beautifully blended. As in all the other stories, the illustrations are too much alike to add much interest."[1]
References
- ^ Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. A Catalogue of Crime. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8
Categories:- 1966 novels
- Judge Dee
- Novels set in China
- Mystery novel stubs
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