The tomb of Ts'in

About the book

Repeated attacks on a ship's safe puzzle investigators because its contents include papers rather than an obvious fortune. The Italian detective Tillizinni follows the mystery to the Chinese embassy, where documents connected with the First Emperor's burial appear to hold an importance their custodians minimize. Captain Ted Talham, the resourceful Yvonne Yale, and the formidable Mr. Soo become participants in a pursuit that joins London intrigue to the search for a tomb in China. Wallace makes information a prize as valuable as treasure: inscriptions, messages, and misleading appearances shape the struggle between rivals. The thriller's rapid changes of advantage are accompanied by the racial caricatures and fantasies of secret Asian power characteristic of its period, which readers should distinguish from historical description.

• Knowledge and possession
• Deception and rivalry
• Imperial adventure

Why read it

The opening question of why thieves repeatedly risk their lives for apparently worthless papers establishes a strong investigative hook.

English Ward, Lock & Co. edition of 1918