Daughter of Time: by Josephine Tey: Richard III. Was he the evil man who infamously imprisoned his two nephews in the Tower of London and later murdered them or is he perhaps a victim of bad press? That's the mystery, Alan Grant, a Scotland Yard detective laid up in the hospital with a broken leg and needing distraction, decides to try to solve using his policeman's perspective instead of the historian's. Grant's focus is on the motive for the murders, as they seem a silly thing for Richard to have done -- something that could not have benefited him. This is an older novel; it was written in 1951. Sometimes I find myself not knowing the meaning of some of the British slang, but I love this novel. I like the way it interweaves history with the present. I found myself being slowly drawn into the mystery of Richard III just as Alan Grant is slowly drawn into it. A warning: if you aren't interested in historical research -- the way it's written and the how -- Daughter of Time is probably not for you. But I like that kind of thing so much I'll end up checking out several books on Richard III just to get more information.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Richard III
Daughter of Time: by Josephine Tey: Richard III. Was he the evil man who infamously imprisoned his two nephews in the Tower of London and later murdered them or is he perhaps a victim of bad press? That's the mystery, Alan Grant, a Scotland Yard detective laid up in the hospital with a broken leg and needing distraction, decides to try to solve using his policeman's perspective instead of the historian's. Grant's focus is on the motive for the murders, as they seem a silly thing for Richard to have done -- something that could not have benefited him. This is an older novel; it was written in 1951. Sometimes I find myself not knowing the meaning of some of the British slang, but I love this novel. I like the way it interweaves history with the present. I found myself being slowly drawn into the mystery of Richard III just as Alan Grant is slowly drawn into it. A warning: if you aren't interested in historical research -- the way it's written and the how -- Daughter of Time is probably not for you. But I like that kind of thing so much I'll end up checking out several books on Richard III just to get more information.
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2 comments:
alison weir has a pretty good book about the whole princes in the tower thing. can't remember her bias but it is well-researched.
I'll have to look for it -- I think I heard about Daughter of Time from you and I really liked it.
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