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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I don't understand how this could be considered one of the best mysteries ever written! I've had this slim volume on my bookshelf for who-knows-how-long and finally picked it up and opened it, thinking I'd have time to finish it before heading out for vacation (it's pretty short). Nope. And that should've been a warning that I wasn't going to be too enthusiastic about the book. So upon my return from vacation, I picked it back up and wound up having to skim through the first half of the book to refresh my memory.
This isn't a traditional "whodunit" at all. It reads more like a fictionalized historical treatise. Interesting but very dull.
This isn't a traditional "whodunit" at all. It reads more like a fictionalized historical treatise. Interesting but very dull.
It investigates, through the medium of a hospitalised Scotland Yard detective, Richard IIIs involvement in the death of his nephews, the Princes in the Tower, and his own death on the battlefield - was he right to be vilified as the hunchmark, wicked uncle and murderer?
Good writing style and enjoyable although it assumes a certain level of knowledge of the history....a family tree would have been useful.
It has an interesting point of view/case for Richard’s innocence...
Good writing style and enjoyable although it assumes a certain level of knowledge of the history....a family tree would have been useful.
It has an interesting point of view/case for Richard’s innocence...
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An engaging mystery that captures the excitement of discovering that real history is much more complicated -- and sometimes much different -- than the stories you get as a child. Tey's pro-Richard case influenced a generation of historians.
But I'm reading this 60 years later, and have seen the way the excitement of historical revisionism can be used to support anti-Semitism and other insanities. Inspector Grant's frenzy and obsession reminds me too much of the Holocaust denier in Erol Morris's "Mr. Death" for me to fully engage the way Tey wished.
But I'm reading this 60 years later, and have seen the way the excitement of historical revisionism can be used to support anti-Semitism and other insanities. Inspector Grant's frenzy and obsession reminds me too much of the Holocaust denier in Erol Morris's "Mr. Death" for me to fully engage the way Tey wished.
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I mistakenly thought this would be in a medieval setting but instead it was told from the almost contemporary point of view of a bedridden 1950s detective with people fetching him books. To say that my mind wandered while reading is to say the least, as I could barely hold my attention to the story at all.
Though I did manage to make it to the end (of a thankfully short novel), I think that the "mystery" of this book was poorly delivered. The historic tale of Richard III, of the Tudor accession, of the murder of the princes (or not) is so much more interesting to me than this telling. However, if you only know of Richard III as a villainous hunchback child murderer, then you might enjoy reading some of the evidence against this reputation for the first time.
Though I did manage to make it to the end (of a thankfully short novel), I think that the "mystery" of this book was poorly delivered. The historic tale of Richard III, of the Tudor accession, of the murder of the princes (or not) is so much more interesting to me than this telling. However, if you only know of Richard III as a villainous hunchback child murderer, then you might enjoy reading some of the evidence against this reputation for the first time.
I have never read any Josephine Tey books, but having recently heard of her I decided to read The Daughter of Time, which is supposed to be one of her best or most well known books. The Daughter of Time opens with Inspector Alan Grant being injured and laid up in the hospital. He is not a happy patient and Marta, who knows of the Inspector’s fascination with faces, provides him with stacks of images to entertain himself. One of them was the image of RIchard III. This changeable nature of the portrait captures Grant’s imagination.
Inspector Grant takes up an investigation to discover whether or not Richard III was really guilty of murdering the young princes. From his hospital bed, Grant conducts his entire investigation. A fascinating look at history and how it is recorded, particularly when the victor is doing the recording.
This book is number 5 in the series and I have not read any of the others, but it is very able to be a stand alone book. I liked Inspector Grant as a character, even though I suppose in this book he was not entirely himself, since he spent the whole time in his hospital bed and I loved the historical mystery.
Inspector Grant takes up an investigation to discover whether or not Richard III was really guilty of murdering the young princes. From his hospital bed, Grant conducts his entire investigation. A fascinating look at history and how it is recorded, particularly when the victor is doing the recording.
This book is number 5 in the series and I have not read any of the others, but it is very able to be a stand alone book. I liked Inspector Grant as a character, even though I suppose in this book he was not entirely himself, since he spent the whole time in his hospital bed and I loved the historical mystery.
Conceptually interesting. I think the argument is good. The premise about not trusting the historians is sound. Unfortunately, it was just not that interesting to me.