The Poisoned Bride and Other Judge Dee Mysteries

Judge Dee, detective extraodinaire and hero of this 18th century Chinese novel, was a real magistrate and statesman of the Tang dynasty (618-907 a.d.). More than 200 years ago, an anomymous author wrote this tale of Judge Dee's legendary detective skills under the title Dee Goong And, or "Criminal Cases Solved by Judge Dee." Dutch author Robert van Gulik translated the work from the Chinese for the enjoyment of 20th century European readers. An innkeeper is accused of murdering two traveling silk merchants. A man dies under mysterious circumstances, and his young daughter immediately loses the power of speech. A beautiful bride is poisoned on her wedding night. The courageous and resourceful magistrate will stop at nothing to assure that justice is done in each of these puzzling cases. With the help of the faithful Sergeant Hoong, reformed swindler Tao Gan, and a couple of ex-bandit martial artists named Ma Joong and Chiao Tai, Judge Dee turns detection skills, clever disguises, and his famous intellect into the sharpest tools around for cutting through to the truth. This New Albion Press edition features nine illustrations by Robert van Gulik, which have been colorized especially for this edition. It can be annotated, searched, and highlighted by the reader.