The Willow Pattern: A Chinese Detective Story
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Edition: First Edition Thus
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Condition remarks: Edges scuffed from age war, foxed fore-edge and FEP.
Set against the richly layered backdrop of Tang Dynasty China, The Willow Pattern plunges readers into the fog-laden streets and opulent courtyards of the ancient city of Poo-yang, where the indefatigable Judge Dee — magistrate, detective, and moral compass — must unravel a trio of sinister crimes as intricate and interlocking as the famous blue-and-white porcelain pattern that gives the novel its name. Robert van Gulik, a Dutch diplomat and Sinologist of formidable erudition, constructs a labyrinthine mystery that weaves themes of greed, forbidden love, and corruption through a meticulously researched portrait of imperial Chinese society, capturing its rituals, hierarchies, and hidden vices with startling authenticity. Van Gulik's prose is precise and atmospheric, balancing scholarly rigour with the page-turning momentum of a master storyteller, and his Judge Dee — inspired by the real historical figure Di Renjie — stands as one of literature's most compelling detective archetypes. For those who have yet to encounter the judge's world, The Willow Pattern is both an irresistible entry point and a tantalising reminder that justice, in any era, is never quite as simple as it appears.
Author: Robert Van Gulik
Format: Hardback
Published: 1965, Heinemann
Genre: Crime fiction
Edition: First Edition Thus
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Condition remarks: Edges scuffed from age war, foxed fore-edge and FEP.
Set against the richly layered backdrop of Tang Dynasty China, The Willow Pattern plunges readers into the fog-laden streets and opulent courtyards of the ancient city of Poo-yang, where the indefatigable Judge Dee — magistrate, detective, and moral compass — must unravel a trio of sinister crimes as intricate and interlocking as the famous blue-and-white porcelain pattern that gives the novel its name. Robert van Gulik, a Dutch diplomat and Sinologist of formidable erudition, constructs a labyrinthine mystery that weaves themes of greed, forbidden love, and corruption through a meticulously researched portrait of imperial Chinese society, capturing its rituals, hierarchies, and hidden vices with startling authenticity. Van Gulik's prose is precise and atmospheric, balancing scholarly rigour with the page-turning momentum of a master storyteller, and his Judge Dee — inspired by the real historical figure Di Renjie — stands as one of literature's most compelling detective archetypes. For those who have yet to encounter the judge's world, The Willow Pattern is both an irresistible entry point and a tantalising reminder that justice, in any era, is never quite as simple as it appears.