The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth

by Katherine Woodfine

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Today, London’s Chinatown can be found in the heart of the West End, but during the 1900s it was situated in the East of the city. From the mid-1880s, Limehouse was home to a small Chinese community. Most of its residents were sailors, working out of the London docks, but there were also some families, like Mei’s in this story.

  It wasn’t until the 1930s that the Limehouse Chinatown began to decline, as a result of the slump in shipping. Many of the so-called ‘slums’ in the area were torn down, and much of Limehouse was then destroyed in World War II during the Blitz.

  After the war, a new Chinatown began to develop in Soho, where it continues today. Few traces now remain of this lost East End Chinatown, but you can still spot the tin dragon sculpture at the end of Mandarin Street, close to Westferry station, which marks the location where it could once be found.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A very big thank you to all at Egmont for all their support for Sophie, Lil and the gang. Special thanks to the brilliant Hannah Sandford and Ali Dougal for editorial wisdom, afternoon teas and intrepid boating excursions. Thanks also to publicist extraordinaire Maggie Eckel, designer Benjamin Hughes and all those who have been part of Team Jewelled Moth.

  Enormous thanks to extraordinary illustrator Júlia Sardà for her incredible artwork. Hearty hurrahs for Louise Lamont – a truly marvellous agent and friend. Three cheers for all the wonderful booksellers who have given such amazing support for The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow .

  A toast (in ginger beer, of course) to all my fellow authors in the Crime Club, most especially Mystery-Girl-in-Chief Robin Stevens. Special thanks to Katie Webber for being one of this book’s first readers (and spotting embarrassing mistakes), for incomparable levels of enthusiasm, and for always being KWebb to my KWoo.

  Finally, a huge thank you to my friends and family, most especially my parents for all of their support and for being my biggest fans – not to mention the fashioning of hats and designing of luggage labels! And thank you to my mum for saying that this one is ‘even better than the last’.

  Biggest thanks of all to Duncan, for everything.

  Also by Katherine Woodfine

  The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow