Can reading, and re-reading, and re-re-reading a book make you happy? The answer is certainly yes for me. The book in today’s post didn’t just entertain me; it added a new facet to my understanding of the past, not only for the particular events described but for history in general. I don’t remember when I first read this, but it was probably when I was in high school. I came back to it as an adult and used its story about the ill-fated Richard III as the starting point for the 9th-grade world history class I taught for a number of years. I was reminded of the book recently because of all the hoo-hah around the discovery of Richard’s bones in Leicester, England, and their recent re-interment. Tey’s masterpiece has been dubbed the greatest detective novel of all time (Crime Writers’ Association, 1990), and I would agree with that assessment. You may recall an earlier post in which I said that Dorothy Sayers’ Gaudy Night was the greatest novel of the 20th century; that is only nominally a detective or mystery novel. So I’m not contradicting myself. Here’s my take:
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, originally published in 1951, reprinted many times and in several formats.
Did you catch the news in late March about the funeral of England’s Richard III? It was a little late, over 500 years after his death, but very well attended. I’m sure Richard would have been quite appreciative had he been able to observe it. His bones had been unearthed from a parking lot in 2012 in the town of Leicester, and after exhaustive tests to identify them the decision was made to hold a funeral and bury him with the pomp befitting a king. (Read all about it and watch videos here, picking and choosing as you see fit.)
There has always been a mystery about Richard III’s character. He was either an enlightened monarch who introduced several reforms into English government, a brave warrior and a devoted husband, or he was a monster capable of killing his two young nephews because they stood between him and the throne, and a hunchback to boot. Or maybe he was all of those things. If you read this book you’ll probably come down his side.
I’ll warn you that the detective in this book, Alan Grant, spends the whole time in a hospital bed. He does research on Richard with the help of a young American who has come over to England because his girlfriend is starring in a long-running play and he misses her. Grant is bored to death with lying on his back and staring at the ceiling, having broken his leg while chasing after a criminal in the course of his work for Scotland Yard. Doesn’t sound very promising, does it? Oh, but it is. You will, you must, fall in love with Grant, and the young lover Brent, and Marta the actress, and Grant’s cleaning lady, and the nurses, especially Nurse Darroll, who “breathes like a suction pump” at the slightest exertion and who has the last line in the book.
I was very pleased to run across this quotation from Peter Hitchens (Christopher Hitchens’ brother, an unapologetic Christian): “I’m always amazed that so many people have never heard of Josephine Tey or of this extraordinary, life-changing book. ” So I guess I’m in pretty good company! (He runs an interesting-looking blog which you can access here.)
Tey has been accused of glossing over certain uncomfortable facts, and she had no access to a document that surfaced later and seems to affirm Richard’s guilt. I just don’t buy it, myself. How could Alan Grant, known for his uncanny ability to recognize villainy in a face, be wrong about Richard? Well, I guess you’ll just have to read the book and decide for yourself. Then, if you like it, you can read Tey’s other mysteries. They’ve all been re-issued recently in paperback and also should be available at your local library. I think my other two favorites are To Love and Be Wise and The Franchise Affair, with Brat Farrar up there too.
Oh, and the title? The daughter of time is truth.