Poets and Murder

Poets and Murder

infobox Book |
name = Poets and Murder


image_caption = University of Chicago Press - 1998
author = Robert van Gulik
cover_artist = Ed Lindlof
series = Judge Dee
genre = Mystery, Detective Novel
publisher = University of Chicago Press
release_date = 1968
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 172 pp (paperback edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-226-84876-0
preceded_by = Necklace and Calabash
followed_by = None
crime-task-force = yes

"Poets and Murder" 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 features eight illustrations by the author along with a detailed layout of the residence where the action takes place.

Poets and Murder was the last Judge Dee novels written by Robert van Gulik. He completed it just before his death from cancer in 1967. The book was published one year after his death. Poets and Murder is a very sad story.

Plot introduction

Judge Dee is a magistrate in the fictional Poo-yang district, its a wealthy area through which the Grand Canal of China runs (part of modern-day Jiangsu province). During the mid-autumn festival in the city of Chin-hwa, Judge Dee is a guest of a small group of distinguished scholars. However, he learns during diner that a young girl has been murdered and the accused is a beautiful poetess. She is thought to have whipped her maidservant to death, but why? Then the body of a student is also discovered.

Poo-yang was the setting for many Judge Dee stories including: The Emperor's Pearl, The Chinese Bell Murders, Necklace and Calabash, and The Red Pavilion.


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