Treason by the Book

A plot against an eighteenth-century Chinese emperor is unraveled-and a vanished culture is illuminated-in this riveting account from an acclaimed historian.

On an October morning in 1728, the most powerful military and civilian official in northwest China was on his way home from a colleague's party when a stranger ran toward him and passed him a large envelope. To the official's astonishment, the mysterious package contained a secret, treacherous plot to overthrow the Manchu government-a conspiracy that renowned historian Jonathan Spence here recounts in a gripping blend of cultural history and compelling narration.

With the same vivid storytelling that made books like The Professor and the Madman, Longitude, and the author's own The Death of Woman Wang as entertaining and exciting as the most compelling novel, Treason by the Book uses this particularly dramatic and wonderfully colorful moment to illuminate a fascinating time and culture. With a compelling cast of characters-the plot unfolds like a page-turning thriller. Drawing on the rich original manuscripts stored in the Beijing and Taipei archives, Jonathan Spence's amazing storytelling reveals much about the political and legal systems of eighteenth-century China. A mesmerizing and historically accurate portrait, Treason by the Book will appeal to all readers of superb narrative nonfiction.