Mr. Moto's Three Aces

The Franklin Library, 1980. Full leather. Like New/No Dustjacket as Issued. A lost treasure for enthusiasts of detective fiction. This omnibus is made up of three spy novels by John Marquand, all featuring the inscrutable Mr. Moto, and all very much period pieces. The books were written in 1936, 1937, and 1938, and drip with the atmosphere of a world already at war in Asia. They have the prejudices of their period (most of the "Orientals" are "wily" and "inscrutable") but they also present the atmosphere of the time very vividly. The three novels are variations on the same plot -- young American man gets involved in intrigue which is way over his head, and gets out of it with the help of Mr. Moto and a beautiful girl. They are set around the Pacific, and bring another era very much to life. John Phillips Marquand (1893 – 1960) was an American writer. Originally best known for his Mr. Moto spy stories, he achieved popular success and critical respect for his satirical novels, winning a Pulitzer Prize for The Late George Apley in 1938. One of his abiding themes was the confining nature of life in America's upper class and among those who aspired to join it. Marquand treated those whose lives were bound by these unwritten codes with a characteristic mix of respect and satire.