The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (Inspector Alan Grant Book Five)

Publication Date:

January 1, 1951

Genre: 

Historical Mystery, Classics

Length:  

206 pages

Series:

Inspector Alan Grant Mysteries

Book description courtesy of Amazon books:

Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, recuperating from a broken leg, becomes fascinated with a contemporary portrait of Richard III that bears no resemblance to the Wicked Uncle of history. Could such a sensitive, noble face actually belong to one of the world’s most heinous villains – a venomous hunchback who may have killed his brother’s children to make his crown secure? Or could Richard have been the victim, turned into a monster by the usurpers of England’s throne? Grant determines to find out once and for all, with the help of the British Museum and an American scholar, what kind of man Richard Plantagenet really was and who killed the Little Princes in the Tower.

My Thoughts:

This book is legendary in the circles I "run" in. Meaning, if you have any interest in Richard III, the fate of the Princes in the Tower, or the belief that the Tudors controlled the narrative completely about their fate, then you have to read this book. I think it took me a long time to get to because I generally enjoy my mysteries to be more of the cozy type and this was more investigative. But it was almost required reading for me and so I'm glad I finally got around to it.

I thought Inspector Grant's quest to prove Richard III wasn't the monster everyone thought he was made for a great story. He stumbles upon the historical record that continues to prove Richard's motives for murdering his nephews just aren't there and in fact that he stood to actually lose by doing it, or having it done. By the end of the book his research concludes that the man with the most to gain from the disappearance and demise of the boys was Henry Tudor himself, thus explaining the reason for vilifying Richard and cementing his place in history as the deformed, wicked uncle. 

The process Grant goes through ultimately brings him satisfaction that he has exonerated a maligned man. It is a compelling book and as someone who has been studying the Wars of the Roses the last few years, I learned new information that warrants looking into. I understand why the book was popular, especially in the time it was written as it was unique. Today, this style of detective fiction has been done often and the only thing I think the book was lacking in was the character development of the Inspector and those around him. The author attempted to endear the reader to his caretakers and his young, enthusiastic student helper but I found them to be pretty forgettable. 

I doubt I will read more of Tey's works as I was most interested in this one because of the Richard angle. But that made it worth a look for sure.