The Emperor's Medallion

About the Book

The fast-paced action of “The Emperor’s Medallion” sweeps through New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Cairo, Beirut, Ankara, and the Cappadocia district of Turkey. Wealthy collectors, unscrupulous dealers, and incompetent government officials are corrupted by their lust for the newly-discovered, unique Sixth Century creation of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and his Empress Theodora.

The narrator of the story, frail retired diplomat “Dodo” (short for Donald Donahue) Dillon, is a memorable character. His pursuit of the Medallion teice endangers his life. He is confronted by a memorable collection of antagonists and collzabiorators: Jonathan Summers, the ruthless acquisitor, his peculier wife, Joanna, Miss Jodie, the scholarly “punk” girl, her father, the distinguished and eccentric Lord Chawkton, the dastardly Turkish dentist, Dr. Ghengiz Dostdogru, and the shrewd Turkish official, Beiram Bey.

The novel brings Justinian and Theodora to life again. It reveals weaknesses in government and the dishonesty of many antiquities dealers. It reflects the author’s wide and deep knowledge of Turkey, Byzantine history, and the artifacts of the period and his conviction, represented by the doddering but indomitable Dodo, that senior citizens can have fun and do useful things.

About the Author

James W. Spain, born in Chicago in 1926 not far from the Englewood Rail Yards, grew up during the Great Depression, and was educated at the University of Chicago and Columbia University. He spent most of his life as a career diplomat, serving as U.S. Ambassador in Tanzania, the United Nations, Turkey, and Sri Lanka. He is the author of three books on the Pathans of Pakistan; American Diplomacy in Turkey; a diplomatic memoir, In Those Days ; a book of short stories, Innocents of the Latter Day; and several “Dodo Dillon” tales about the adventures of a retired American diplomat in exotic corners of the world.