Tey, Josephine Books

The Singing Sands

Josephine Tey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Oh What a Wonderful Tey! 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful.

This book is definitely my favourite of the Ins. Grant series. It is truly unfortunate that Ms. Tey was taken from us so young. Just think what she would have written! This book was published posthumously after her untimely death. It is as perfect a mystery as you will ever come across. In the book Grant is going on a holiday. On the train that he has taken to go to Scotland to visit friends, a young man is found dead in his room. It truly looked like misadventure, but something about it disturbed Grant and got him searching a trail that took him to the Hebrides, back to London, and to Marseilles. And what actually got him going on this impossible search were a few lines of poetry scrawled on a newspaper that the young victim had had with him before he died. Wonderful story!

Editorial Review:

On sick leave from Scotland Yard, Inspector Alan Grant finds a dead man aboard the night train to Scotland and is drawn into the mystery of the man's death by the lines--""the singing sands, that guard the way to paradise""--that are written on the dead man's newspaper. Reprint. 15,000 first printing. NYT.

Brat Farrar

Josephine Tey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Real Poser--morality plus--4.5 star value 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This is basically a wonderful period novel with an embedded mystery--with an overview of what might have been a mystery immediately revealed. But, the devil is in the details--providing accelerating suspense & an opportunity for Tey to again excel in her characterizations, dialog, descriptions of English life, etc. I am torn between a 4 & 5 star rating, but the explanation of the details at the end seems a bit thin. On the other hand, similar to "Miss Pym Disposes," the main character is faced with moral dilemma & the opportunity to play God--but this time acts differently. Assumptions are the delight of mystery authors! The interplay of the twin brothers is absorbing & the dichotomy between the twin sisters is interesting. Most of the characters are delightful--even the duplicitous Farrar. I wondered how Tey would manage the ending relationship with Eleanor--& she did it. The ending, as usual for a Tey, was explosive & (at least to a degree) unexpected. Again similar to "Miss Pym," we are given "incontrovertible proof" that's proven wrong. As Tey says herein, "If you thought about the unthinkable long enough it became quite reasonable."

Editorial Review:

Brat Farrar has been carefully coached to assume the identity of Patrick Ashby, heir to the Ashby fortune who disappeared when he was 13. Just when it seems that Brat will pull off the deception, he discovers the truth about Patrick's disappearance, a dark secret that threatens to tear apart the family and jeopardize Brat's carefully laid plans. Called "the best of its kind" by the New Yorker, Josephine Tey's classic is a tale of unrelenting suspense and tension.

The Daughter of Time

Josephine Tey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 136 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

WHAT IS TRUTH 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Author Elizabeth MacKintosh, wrote under the pseudonym of Josephine Tey. She died in 1952 but her unique talent continues to entertain and enlighten her readers with her unusual mystery scenarios. With Daughter of Time she invites us to join the team of a 20th century Scotland Yard inspector Alan Grant and an American researcher currently on assignment at the British Museum as they utilized their powers of deductive reasoning (ala Sherlock Holmes) to ascertain the truth about with Richard III. Having been previously characterized by everyone from Shakespeare to Sir Thomas More as an evil hunchbacked usurper who murdered his two young nephews in the Tower of London in order to claim the throne; the Richard Plantagenet of this investigation is portrayed as an unusually trusting, loving and gentle man with no physical deformity.

As creatively and intellectually plotted as this novel is, its' true beauty lies in the fact that it encourages the reader to THINK. It obliquely tells us that one should never accept any recorded history without question since most history is written from the perspective of those in power at the time and is not necessarily factual. In addition it enhances knowledge and vocabulary and sent this reader scurrying to the computer to look up definitions of items such as Bill of Attainder, Titulus Regius, and Star Chamber (lo and behold....it is more than a movie with Michael Douglas).

Admittedly, this is a novel and the "Richard argument" presented by Tey's characters, although compelling, should not be viewed as incontrovertible fact. Her writing, however, deserves to be treasured and enjoyed like a fine wine that is rolled around on the tongue and savored before it is swallowed.

Editorial Review:

Josephine Tey is often referred to as the mystery writer for people who don't like mysteries. Her skills at character development and mood setting, and her tendency to focus on themes not usually touched upon by mystery writers, have earned her a vast and appreciative audience. In Daughter of Time, Tey focuses on the legend of Richard III, the evil hunchback of British history accused of murdering his young nephews. While at a London hospital recuperating from a fall, Inspector Alan Grant becomes fascinated by a portrait of King Richard. A student of human faces, Grant cannot believe that the man in the picture would kill his own nephews. With an American researcher's help, Grant delves into his country's history to discover just what kind of man Richard Plantagenet was and who really killed the little princes.

The FRANCHISE AFFAIR

Josephine Tey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Though Josephine Tey is not, perhaps, as well known as Agatha Christie, her contribution to the Golden Age of mysteries is unquestioned. In contrast to Christie, Tey rejected formulas and long-running series in favor of experimentation with new settings and odd conjunctions of character and subject matter. Her historical tale The Daughter of Time is frequently cited as one of the greatest mysteries of all time.

The Franchise Affair resembles some of the best work of Poe in its introduction of an apparently inhuman evil in an otherwise sedate country setting. Robert Blair, a lawyer who prides himself on his ability to avoid work of any significance, is interrupted one evening by a phone call from Marion Sharpe. Ms. Sharpe and her mother live in a run-down estate known as the Franchise, and their lives drew little attention until Betty Kane charged them with an unthinkable crime. Ms. Kane, having disappeared for a month, now says that she was held captive in the attic of the Franchise during her entire absence. While her story seems absurd, her recollection of minute details about the interior of the house sway even Scotland Yard. Blair--who Ms. Sharpe has chosen for her defense because, as she says, he is "someone of my own sort"--must dust off his neurons and undertake some serious sleuthing if his client is to beat these serious charges. As with all fine mysteries, one has the sense of being in a sea of clues with a solution just out of reach. The Franchise Affair is a classic mystery, and also a superb record of country life in early twentieth century England. --Patrick O'Kelley

Miss Pym Disposes

Josephine Tey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Physician heal thyself 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

This is an enjoyable book, but it's not "Daughter of Time." It takes almost 2/3 of the entertainingly descriptive book to get to the mystery. One can guess the mystery, though clues are rare, but the author presents a double-whammy ending that blows you away. Unfortunately, it's a bit disturbing. The title is key to understanding Miss Pym, so-called expert on psychology. However, I think there's another explanation for her "action." After all, she could have acted again. So, to understand the book (whether this is what Tey meant or not), consider that individuals have styles of activity including: compromise, negotiation, directive, collaborative, & avoidance in varying measure. Usually one predominates. Seems to me that the last one predominates here. From a moral point of view (let alone legal), it also seems to me that the book demonstrates the risk of playing God. I don't think I like Miss Pym after all.

Editorial Review:

Miss Lucy Pym, a popular English psychologist, is guest lecturer at a physical training college. The year's term is nearly over, and Miss Pym -- inquisitive and observant -- detects a furtiveness in the behavior of one student during a final exam. She prevents the girl from cheating by destroying her crib notes. But Miss Pym's cover-up of one crime precipitates another -- a fatal "accident" that only her psychological theories can prove was really murder.

To Love and Be Wise

Josephine Tey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

An enjoyable mystery 4 out of 5 stars.
14 of 16 people found this review helpful.

This is one of Josephine Tey's lesser known mysteries. "Daughter of Time" and "The Franchise Affiar" are, perhaps better known. This novel is in the Inspector Grant series and concerns the disappearance of a young man whom Grant had met briefly at a party.

The writing and atmosphere of this novel are both excellent. Unlike some other Tey novels, I enjoyed this one more for the characters and setting, rather than plotting. Tey has a fine ear for dialogue and humor and Grant is a pleasure to go detecting with.

Editorial Review:

Literary sherry parties were not Alan Grant's cup of tea. But when the Scotland Yard Inspector arrived to pick up actress Marta Hallard for dinner, he was struck by the handsome young American photographer, Leslie Searle. Author Lavinia Fitch was sure her guest "must have been something very wicked in ancient Greece," and the art colony at Salcott St. Mary would have agreed. Yet Grant heard nothing more of Searle until the news of his disappearance. Had Searle drowned by accident or could he have been murdered by one of his young women admirers? Was it a possible case of suicide or had the photographer simply vanished for reasons of his own?

A Shilling for Candles

Josephine Tey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Fallen star, drowned at sea 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

"The last legacy of all read, 'To my brother Herbert, a shilling for candles.'"
- from the last will and testament of Christine Clay, herein

The unusual title comes from a still more unusual clause in the last will and testament of superstar actress Christine Clay - an enigmatic legacy to her estranged brother. Clay worked her way up from nothing, with a mother who spoiled her brother rotten while having all kinds of excuses why Christine couldn't have proper schooling. Christine managed to escape to the life of the stage; her rise was so rapid that when she married a wealthy man with a title, she was considered to have made a catch, but within a couple of years *he* was thought of as 'Christine Clay's husband'. (Her background, gradually uncovered by police investigation, is enough to support a story in itself.) Now she has been found drowned at the lonely seaside place she was visiting incognito, and a youngster who seems like a stereotypical victim of circumstances is on the run, suspected of her murder for what seems like an inadequate motive. And given the brilliance of Christine Clay's shining star, why was she alone on holiday, with neither a court of hangers-on nor her husband?

Grant carries part of the story's action during his investigation, but Tey isn't shackled to a stylistic formula. Erica, the local Chief Constable's 16-year-old daughter, wades in where angels fear to tread, and generally assists Robin Tisdall, one of the chief suspects, to stay out of police custody while the police try to find out how Christine died. (This last provides an excuse for several mildly entertaining bit-part characters to appear, so I can live with it in the name of entertainment.)

A few too many plots getting in the way of the story, and could've used better editing to work as a book. I think it works better as a performance on the audio edition than it does on the page. As always when Stephen Thorne is the reader, the audio edition is performed well.

Elizabeth Mackintosh ("Josephine Tey" was a pseudonym) was primarily a playwright; she only produced 8 mystery novels altogether, 7 featuring Grant. Incidentally, she used yet another pseudonym, "Gordon Daviot", as both a playwright and for the original publication of many of her books. A SHILLING FOR CANDLES (1936) was Mackintosh's 2nd mystery novel, with an emphasis on 'novel' rather than 'who done it?' Tey isn't particularly interested in playing fair with the reader here, but I personally can live with that since the book works as a story. (I've taken off points for it, and for some issues with the story construction, but on the whole it's enjoyable, so the audio edition is worth having.)

Editorial Review:

A woman's body is found on the English seacoast, and twisted in her hair is an article screaming murder. For Inspector Alan Grant, the case becomes a nightmare, as too many clues and too many motives arise.

Man in the Queue

Josephine Tey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

A real mystery? Worth 3.5 stars 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

While there are mysteries so well written that one wonders if the author is just a great writer using the genre for fun or is developing from mystery writer to great author per se, these possibilities are frustratingly inapplicable here it seems. Tey becomes a very fine writer, but since this is her first novel, it doesn't reflect her later maturity. However, some of her "mystery" novels (I've read 4 others so far) seem more literary than mysteries. She regularly withholds information the reader would need to independently solve the mystery. She is not the only one to do this however--many modern "mystery novelists" do this as well. It's rare to be able to figure out a P.D. James novel's mystery either for example. This is one of the reasons that Agatha is so wonderful--she provides both the fine writing & a fair chance to the reader. So, to my mind, Tey is no Christie. In fact, in this novel, the reader is led down the garden path intentionally so that the author can pull something totally unpredictable out of a hat--a bit maddening to the diehard mystery lover. Also annoying to the American reader are her many (to me obscure) British colloquialisms & expressions, which are not understandable by the context, as well as her occasional use of an "I" narrator out of the blue. Also, the internal ruminations of the inspector (who is personable but a bit less able than one would hope) are sometimes trying. She's also a bit negative about foreigners--including America (p. 222) but that may just be part of the story. Her perspective may either be dated or simply dissimilar--p. 188: "It is indecent to pry too far into even a murderer's soul"--not true for the contemporary US TV show "Criminal Intent." Some reviewers take a character's perspective to be the author's perspective--this is an assumption on their part. Still, despite all, Tey has some wonderful turns of phrase--p. 63: "the waiting room was panelled in oak that extinguished the last valiant ray of light as it fought its way past the old greenish glass of the window-pane. The light died on the window-sill as the last survivor of a charge dies on the enemy parapet, murdered but glorious" & p. 76: "No one wanted a plot tonight. No one had ever wanted one. Quite a large number of the most enthusiastic habitues were unaware that there was such a thing, and few, if any, would have been able to give a lucid account of it. And tonight to insist on wasting time with such irrelevance was folly." The last (to a degree) may be Tey's view of her readers. She's an aesthetic writer IMHO.

Editorial Review:

The first of the author's novels starring the popular Inspector Alan Grant traces the mysterious slaying of a man waiting to see a London musical, whose neighbors in line insist they saw nothing. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.

Three by Tey: Miss Pym Disposes, The Franchise Affair, and Brat Farrar

Josephine Tey, Elizabeth MacKintosh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

An incredible buy 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book contains 3 delightful novels (of only 8 written) by Tey. All 3 are wonderful period pieces illustrating English life with terrific characterizations, dialog, psychological discussions, & moral dilemmas. The mystery tends to take a back seat to the basic novel, however. Tey also provides some pithy comments: From Miss Pym Disposes: p. 122: As a psychologist she began to suspect she was a very good teacher of French.
From The Franchise Affair: p. 213: The Governor; to whom a tear in the eye was just a drop of H2O.
p. 295: If you see a giraffe once a year it remains a spectacle; if you see it daily it becomes part of the scenery.
p. 298: The less he knows about a thing the more strongly he feels about it.
From Brat Farrar: p. 414: If you thought about the unthinkable long enough it became quite reasonable.
While each novel is probably a 4.5 star (or close), IMHO the collection rates higher. Enjoy this fantastic collection!

Brat Farrar (New Windmill)

Josephine Tey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Subtle English mystery at its best. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Josephine Tey is a master of mid-century British mysteries. Almost all of her books are terrific and Brat Farrar is the best of the bunch. Less precious than Sayers, Tey writes every bit as well and has an eye for description. She writes about mysteries in every day life among the privileged, although not aristocratic, class. This book is very clever, involving a lost heir and an appealing imposter. The author lets you know right away who the "bad guy" is, but what he did and how he did it are only slowly revealed. This book shares a theme with two other of Tey's mysteries (which I don't want to spoil by telling more of the plot ) Miss Pym Disposes and The Franchise Affair. I enthusiastically recommend all three.