GULIK, Robert van (author and illustrator). Poets and Murder: A Chinese Detective Story. London: Heinemann. 1968.
8vo. Publisher’s black cloth, lettered in gilt to spine, photographic dust-jacket with printed price of 21s to front flap, illustrated map endpapers; pp. vii, [1 (blank)], 173, [3], with 8 illustrations by the author; light pushing to spine tips, mild spotting to edges of text block; very good.
First UK edition.
Judge Dee must navigate the dark underbelly of academia, unraveling a series of interrelated crimes. Published shortly after Van Gulik’s death, this was the final Judge Dee novel.
Dee is based on the seventh-century Tang Dynasty magistrate, Di Renjie. Van Gulik first became interested in this historical figure when he translated Dee Goong An in 1949, and he continued to feature Judge Dee throughout his original crime fiction series (1949-1967). A Dutch diplomat and scholar of sinology, Van Gulik incorporated his research into his novels as well as illustrating them; this book contains eight of his woodblock-style illustrations.
Evers, p. 58.
SKU: 2124232