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Robert van Gulik

1 series 16 books in order

Robert Hans van Gulik was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician, and writer, best known for the Judge Dee historical mysteries, whose protagonist he borrowed from the 18th-century Chinese detective novel Dee Goong An. On our catalog he is credited with Judge Dee novels including The Chinese Bell Murders, The Chinese Gold Murders, and Murder in Canton.

Born
1910
Known for
Van Gulik's Judge Dee series

Series by Robert van Gulik

Van Gulik's Judge Dee series

16 books in order · 1957–1967

  1. The Chinese Maze Murders

    1957 · Robert van Gulik

    The Chinese Maze Murders is a gong'an historical mystery novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China, published in 1951. It is…

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  2. The Chinese Bell Murders

    1958 · Robert van Gulik

    The Chinese Bell Murders is a 1958 gong'an historical mystery novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is fiction based on the…

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  3. Cover of The Chinese gold murders

    The Chinese gold murders

    1959 · Robert van Gulik

    Soon after taking up his first magisterial post in the godforsaken district of Peng-lai, Judge Dee must investigate the murder of his predecessor. A…

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  4. The Chinese Lake Murders

    1960 · Robert van Gulik

    The Chinese Lake Murders is a historical mystery novel written by Robert van Gulik in 1960. It is part of a series featuring Judge Dee, a magistrate…

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  5. The Chinese Nail Murders

    1961 · Robert van Gulik

    The Chinese Nail Murders is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China, published in 1961. It is a fiction based…

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  6. The Haunted Monastery

    1961 · Robert van Gulik

    The Haunted Monastery is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. Published in 1961, it is fiction based on…

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  7. The Red Pavilion

    1961 · Robert van Gulik

    The Red Pavilion is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik. It is set in Imperial China and features Judge Dee, a magistrate and…

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  8. The Lacquer Screen

    1962 · Robert van Gulik

    The Lacquer Screen is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. Published in 1962, it is a work of fiction…

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  9. The Emperor's Pearl

    1963 · Robert van Gulik

    The Emperor's Pearl is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik. It is set in Imperial China and features Judge Dee, a magistrate and…

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  10. The Morning of the Monkey

    1964 · Robert van Gulik

    The Morning of the Monkey is a 1964 story by Robert van Gulik, part of The Monkey and the Tiger, a book pairing two unrelated short gong'an detective…

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Show all 16 Van Gulik's Judge Dee series books in order →

Frequently asked questions

How many books has Robert van Gulik written?

We list 16 books by Robert van Gulik across 1 series, published between 1957–1967 — each shown in full reading order.

What order should I read Robert van Gulik's books?

Read each series in publication order. A good place to start is “The Chinese Maze Murders.” Open any series above for its complete numbered reading order.

Where can I buy Robert van Gulik's books?

Every title links to Amazon from its series page — see our affiliate disclosure in the footer for how that supports the site.

Reading order compiled from author/publisher guidance and verified bibliographic data. Spotted a wrong order, a missing book, or any other mistake? and we'll correct it.

Some summaries adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.