The Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey
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Book Summary Information
Author: Josephine TeyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 1995-11-29
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Touchstone
Book Reviews of The Daughter of Time
Book Review: Unforgettable real-life mystery for fans of history & mysteries
Summary: 5 Stars
Josephine Tey was once a well known British writer of mysteries. I'm afraid she is now mostly forgotten---except for the classic "Daughter of Time." If you like history, if you like true life mysteries, or children-in-peril stories, in fact if you are a Shakespeare fan or a Tudor era afficiando or any of the above, you'll want to read this slim book. Written in 1951, close to the author's death, the language, and the descriptions of clothes, cars, and the way of life of the two "modern" young characters strikes one as dated and quaint, but somehow quite appropriate for this story. An injured Scotland Yard inspector is in hospital with a severe leg injury---shades of Patterson's Alex Cross!---so his young female friend has to be his legs, eyes, and researcher, and they become involved in a "cold case" 470 years old. The mystery is: who killed, or, made to disappear forever, the two young princes who were legitimage heirs to the British throne during the bloody "War of the Roses". Supposedly for their safety the boys,aged 12 and 10 were put into the Tower of London, which was not simply a jail, but also a royal residence at that time. In the case of the young boys, at the culmination of the horrifically violent War of the Roses, which destroyed many of the oldest noble houses of England, the mother of the young princes is said to have asked their uncle, Richard III to bring them back to her. Their father the king was dead: Richard III was their guardian. At that time, so it said, he told her he didn't know where they were. There was no proof of anything, and no bodies. For the next five centuries, down to the present, Richard III has been blamed for the deaths, probably mostly due to the play of Shakespeare: "Richard III", written under the auspices of the Tudor monarachy. The sister of the dead boys, Elizabeth of York, was married to the surviving male prince of the opposing side in the war,Henry Tudor, beginning the Tudor dynasty. Richard III who did wantto rule, was killed in battle. He was villified for the deaths of the innocent children. The "traditional" view of this can be read in Allison Weir's "The Princes in the Tower", based on the (mostly Tudor) records of the time, which blames Richard III. In Tey's book, the two young people are able to do research and find enough suspicious material that they doubt the story they have always been taught, and come to believe Richard III was innocent. In fact, there are quite a few legitimate historians who do feel Richard III was scapegoated by the Tudors who did not want two boys who were legitimate heirs alive to claim the throne after the war was over. Tey knew of this argument,and put the words into the mouths of her characters. (Centuries later the skeletons of two male children were found under the stairs in an old part of the tower of London.
Summary of The Daughter of Time
Inspector Grant begins the job of unraveling the centuries-old mystery of Richard III. Was he really the monster that history books made him out to be? Did he murder the two Princes in the Tower? Inspector Grant was ready to find the truth...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.
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