The Phantom of the Temple
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 University of Chicago Press - 1998 |
|
| Author | Robert van Gulik |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Ed Lindlof |
| Series | Judge Dee |
| Genre(s) | Mystery, Detective Novel |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
| Released | 1966 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 203 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-226-84877-9 |
| Preceded by | Murder in Canton |
| Followed by | Judge Dee at Work |
The Phantom of the Temple is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China (rougly 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 nine illustrations by the author and a map of the town of Lan-fang.
[edit] Plot introduction
Judge Dee, a magistrate in the fictional Lan-fang district has a problem: a mysterious phantom is haunting a Buddhist temple. In addition, some 20 bars of gold have gone missing, not to mention the merchant's beautiful daughter. When a body is discovered without a head, Judge Dee must quickly solve the case.
Lan-fang was the setting for another Judge Dee novel, The Chinese Maze Murders and two short stories from Judge Dee at Work.
