From the Bookshelf of Retro Reads…

The Daughter of Time (Inspector Alan Grant, #5)

Josephine Tey

Start date: October 22, 2018

Finish date: November 15, 2018

Discussion: Buddy reads

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What Members Thought

Mar 16, 2009 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book, audiobook, currently-re-reading, kindle, tbr-with-gr-groups, reread

5/2023: I enjoyed this reread much more, thanks to finally learning more about the War of the Roses a couple years ago (read The Sunne in Splendour). Historical fiction, but well-researched, and allowed me to at least follow the discussions between Grant of Scotland Yard, and American Brent Carradine, a budding young historian who helps Tey’s series detective while away hospital time after an injury in the line of duty. They tackle the mystery of Richard III, and the murder of the two young neph ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2018 Julie Durnell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: england-uk, mystery

Amazing! I do not know much on the Plantagenet/York/Tudor/Lancaster ancestry but thankfully my copy had two family trees at the back that were very helpful in keeping everyone straight. The research that went into this must have been a huge task. The thought process of a laid up police inspector attempting to unravel a centuries old murder was a thrilling tale!

10 likes · Like · see review

Mar 12, 2008 Alexandra rated it really liked it

Shelves: own-on-kindle, mystery, historical-fiction, read-in-2008, avail-on-audible, kindle-daily-deal, inspector-alan-grant-series

5/8/17 Kindle Daily Deal $1.99

8 likes · Like · see review

May 27, 2008 Barb in Maryland rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: keepers, mystery-thriller-goodies, history

Absolutely top rate historical mystery with a modern twist. A must read for all interested in Richard III.

ETA: 24 Oct 2018 Just finished my umpteenth re-read (I first read this in the early 1960s) and I was entertained and educated all over again. I loved every page. It is a bit dated--all that smoking and in the hospital at that!! Oh my goodness--I was appalled! But the subject matter is still intriguing and the arguments are cogent.
There is one thread running through the book that really caug ...more

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Aug 08, 2018 Kate rated it it was amazing

I could have sworn I reviewed this book here but I see not. I LOVED this book when I first read it, and it set me off on a Richard quest, which came to an abrupt e d when I realized Tey had left out some very compelling, relatively lately but decidedly pre-publication primary source evidence discovered that would have weakened her theory. Plus I then read quite a few other Tey books and found her opinions difficult to stomach. So the stars on a re-read might adjust, but I’ve given the five I cer ...more

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Feb 06, 2022 Sewingdervish rated it it was amazing

I wish someone had made me read this book in September when I was bedridden with a broken ankle! It would have been the perfect thematic read. And as everyone knows I am an ardent Ricardian!

As a novel/mystery 3 stars. As a history book defending the honor of a competent king, 5 stars! Why is this book called the Daughter of time? Apparently, from a provwrb "Truth is the daughter of time" Why do I keep hearing about this being the greatest mystery novel ever? Questions.... ...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Laura Anne rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery, british-isles

3.5 stars Not long after I lay this book aside, I will probably forget most of the historical facts and speculations presented. However, I really enjoyed the 'voices' of the characters. They sprang from the page, and I longed to be in the hospital room debating with them. It made me really think about the power of stories and how much we understand and know history. ...more

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Jul 04, 2019 Rachel Piper rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: mount-tbr-2019

Ive highly enjoyed every other Tey I’ve read; I just don’t think I’m the audience for this one, having zero recollection of England’s various dynasties, monarchies and inheritance/succession disputes. Sorry to my AP European History teacher.

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Nov 17, 2018 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery

I had been saving this book up for years, as it is the last Josephine Tey left that I hadn't read. After awhile I was reluctant to pick it up for fear that it would not live up to the hype. But it did.

The synopsis of this book can be found in every review -- Inspector Grant is laid up in the hospital with a bum leg and spine from a work-related injury. Bored out of his mind, he begins whiling away the time by considering the case of Richard III Plantagenet and his alleged assassination of his tw ...more

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May 31, 2010 Jenn Estepp rated it really liked it

Shelves: sleuths-and-gumshoes

i am not convinced that it is the greatest british mystery of all time, but it's pretty darn good. also, a quick and fascinating read. which, at first, made me feel a little dumb, because it seems i have forgotten almost everything i once knew about british history. but then it inspired me to read up on it again (although no telling if i'll follow through) and it's always nice when a fiction book inspires you to do a bit of learning.

that being said, as of right now i am totally in the "poor ric ...more

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Feb 03, 2014 Jodi rated it really liked it

This book completely convinced me that Richard III did not in fact kill his nephews. I sure wish I had read this book before I visited the Tower of London. I felt like I got a great look at Richard, his family, and Henry VII. A fun way to learn!

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