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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Josephine Tey is frequently acclaimed as one of the greatest of the Golden Age crime writers, although her output was relatively small compared to some of her contemporaries, such as Christie or Marsh. For my first Tey I selected THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR, one of several of her novels to feature her lead character Inspector Grant. Yet whilst I believe Grant is the protagonist in most of the books in which he appears, in this case he is a minor character, only existing on the periphery of the main action.
Without giving too much away, a basic précis of the plot is that two women are accused of imprisoning a young girl, forcing her to work as a maid and beating her. The story hinges largely not on whether they did or didn’t commit the crime, but how they can prove their innocence.
I found this to be a markedly different read to most Golden Age fare. For starters it’s not really a whodunnit, more a howcantheygetoutofit. The basic plot premise is simple, and despite the fact there is little in the way of surprise, Tey slowly builds the tension throughout.
I suppose in modern terms it could be described as a rather gentle tale. That is, if one likes one’s crime novels to be blood splattered and gory. But in many ways this book is actually rather savage. It marvellously sends up the extremes of both the right and left wing press, and shows a fierce intelligence on the effects of media manipulation which seems even more pertinent to today’s reader.
One of the things I admired about this book is how realistic much of it felt in comparison to other works from the Golden Age. This is not a story in which people can remember precise details of what they were doing at the time of half past eleven three months previously. Indeed, much of the plot is driven by the balance of circumstantial evidence and public prejudice.
Ultimately, like many of her contemporary crime writers, Tey’s view is a conservative one, and her morality is decidedly old-fashioned. But compared to Christie and Sayers, for example, I found Tey’s exploration of class, parochial vs metropolitan differences, the judiciary system and mass media to be much more nuanced and thought-provoking.
I highly recommend this novel, and can’t wait to read more of Tey’s slim body of work.
Without giving too much away, a basic précis of the plot is that two women are accused of imprisoning a young girl, forcing her to work as a maid and beating her. The story hinges largely not on whether they did or didn’t commit the crime, but how they can prove their innocence.
I found this to be a markedly different read to most Golden Age fare. For starters it’s not really a whodunnit, more a howcantheygetoutofit. The basic plot premise is simple, and despite the fact there is little in the way of surprise, Tey slowly builds the tension throughout.
I suppose in modern terms it could be described as a rather gentle tale. That is, if one likes one’s crime novels to be blood splattered and gory. But in many ways this book is actually rather savage. It marvellously sends up the extremes of both the right and left wing press, and shows a fierce intelligence on the effects of media manipulation which seems even more pertinent to today’s reader.
One of the things I admired about this book is how realistic much of it felt in comparison to other works from the Golden Age. This is not a story in which people can remember precise details of what they were doing at the time of half past eleven three months previously. Indeed, much of the plot is driven by the balance of circumstantial evidence and public prejudice.
Ultimately, like many of her contemporary crime writers, Tey’s view is a conservative one, and her morality is decidedly old-fashioned. But compared to Christie and Sayers, for example, I found Tey’s exploration of class, parochial vs metropolitan differences, the judiciary system and mass media to be much more nuanced and thought-provoking.
I highly recommend this novel, and can’t wait to read more of Tey’s slim body of work.
Robert Blair is a staid lawyer settling into a comfortable middle age when he gets dragged into an odd kidnapping case.
It's told well--I really like Tey's quiet, understated writing style. And the characters and their interactions are delightfully old-fashioned. But old-fashioned is precisely my problem with this story--it all hinges on slut-shaming, bad-seedism (that concept that some people are just born totally evil, blegh) and classism, which kept rankling as I read. I just don't believe that "the lower classes" are crass and lack tact, and either live to serve or are evil. And without sharing that belief, the story reads less naturally and believably. And, as all too often happens in mystery novels, all is revealed in a sensational confession.
But it's still a good story.
It's told well--I really like Tey's quiet, understated writing style. And the characters and their interactions are delightfully old-fashioned. But old-fashioned is precisely my problem with this story--it all hinges on slut-shaming, bad-seedism (that concept that some people are just born totally evil, blegh) and classism, which kept rankling as I read. I just don't believe that "the lower classes" are crass and lack tact, and either live to serve or are evil. And without sharing that belief, the story reads less naturally and believably. And, as all too often happens in mystery novels, all is revealed in a sensational confession.
But it's still a good story.
A very nice surprise. Not your typical English mystery made famous by Sayers, Marsh or Christie. Josephine Tey focuses on the characters and their quirks, the plot takes the back seat. Not that the plot is boring, it's not. It's just very linear and doesn't offer any surprises. The reader in not kept in the dark even if you 'see' the book through Robert Blair's eyes, there are no surprises from left field as far as the 'mystery' plot is concerned.
The heart of the book and why it gets four stars is the way Tey moves along the characters, even the one that you find a tad too much at the beginning, grow and move on to be better. Robert Blair is one of the most 'boring' and it's not a bad thing, character I've ever encounter that made me want to know how he will handle being thrown into an active life. It's the wonderful journey of a man that finds his life lacking and see his future path being very very predictable, who gets a wake up call out of left field and is drag at first into action but once he is, never gives up. The reader doesn't give up either.
The heart of the book and why it gets four stars is the way Tey moves along the characters, even the one that you find a tad too much at the beginning, grow and move on to be better. Robert Blair is one of the most 'boring' and it's not a bad thing, character I've ever encounter that made me want to know how he will handle being thrown into an active life. It's the wonderful journey of a man that finds his life lacking and see his future path being very very predictable, who gets a wake up call out of left field and is drag at first into action but once he is, never gives up. The reader doesn't give up either.
Two women are accused of kidnapping and beating a 15 year old girl. A man is going to make is own inquest.
Josephine Tey can definitely write, but this book made me really uncomfortable. The way the young woman is vilified and shamed because she didn't fit into the mold of what they thought was correct is disheartening. I know the book is a product of his time, but I was expecting something a little bit more modern coming from Josephine Tey
Josephine Tey can definitely write, but this book made me really uncomfortable. The way the young woman is vilified and shamed because she didn't fit into the mold of what they thought was correct is disheartening. I know the book is a product of his time, but I was expecting something a little bit more modern coming from Josephine Tey
Published in 1948, The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey is totally readable in 2021. Her writing is simply excellent; her dialogue so good one cannot imagine it differently and her smart sense of humor a treat. This is the third time I have read this mystery--the last time about 20-30 years ago, I can be forgiven for not remembering the end--and it still unfolded so beautifully; I found it simply amazing. And since I had forgotten the ending it was a wonderful surprise for me. If you haven't read Josephine Tey until now, a delightful read awaits you.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
No es una historia trepidante. Es una historia para leer con una taza de té, sin prisa y disfrutando del paisaje y de la gente a la que acompañas para descubrir qué pasó realmente con Betty Kane.
Whilst better than the first two Alan Grant books (though, barely featuring Grant as a character at all), and containing within it a quite entertaining tale and convincing characters, does suffer again from the Author's enthusiasm for the Deus Ex Machina, whereby the answer proceeds not from the hard work of the main characters, but by pure chance.
Certainly this likely mirrors the real world closer than say Poirot or Holmes, but it doesn't make for a more entertaining story.
Certainly this likely mirrors the real world closer than say Poirot or Holmes, but it doesn't make for a more entertaining story.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Started off great, with engaging plot and relationships, but the more it continued the more it became impossible to ignore the prejudiced tone of the novel. classism and possibly misogyny seeped into this detection the more that it focussed on the working class girl who, it is clear from the beginning, is lying about a kidnapping. The plot is not that strong of itself (even if it is based on a real event) and the bashing over the head with how awful this girl was left a sour taste in the mouth. Shame because of the strong start. Interestingly I already knew of this class element bc of reading the little stranger which is partly inspired by this novel (which was very interesting to note as reading!)
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Kidnapping
Minor: Infidelity