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Riveting mystery set in 1700s China
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ELSA Hart’s fiction debut perfectly melds history with the mystery genre for a lush look at China on the cusp of change. Set in the early 1700s, “Jade Dragon Mountain” delivers a compelling look at Chinese politics, culture and religion, delivering the complexities of each with a rich story.
Disgraced Beijing librarian Li Du planned to stop in the border city of Dayan only long enough to register, as required of an exile, before continuing on his solitary travels. He wants no favors from Magistrate Tulishen, who happens to be his cousin, nor does he want to spend much time in this dirty, overcrowded place near Burma. Dayan is preparing for a major festival to honor the upcoming visit of the emperor, who has announced he will cause an eclipse on the day he arrives. The emperor will be joined by Jesuit scholars who have proved invaluable in providing him with a calendar of astronomical events. It was forbidden to publicly acknowledge their contributions so as not to “tarnish the pageantry of the Emperor’s predictions.”
But the murder of an elderly Jesuit astronomer spurs Li Du to investigate, despite the ambitious Tulishen’s wishes to blame the death on bandits. The truth, Li Du discovers, might derail the magistrate’s career and may reinforce Dayan’s reputation as “an area known throughout China only for its disease and barbarism.” Li Du’s investigation puts him in touch with a Jesuit botanist, the British representatives of the East India Co, and a local woman who is serving as the magistrate’s “first consort.”
“Jade Dragon Mountain” shows the fear of foreigners that pervaded China at the time, as well as the emperor’s attempts to thwart foreign trade. Hart weaves history, culture and politics in a thoughtful, briskly paced mystery.
The book proves to be one of the year’s most engrossing debuts and establishes Hart as an author to watch.
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