Summary of The Daughter of Time
Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is confined to a London hospital with a broken leg. To fight his boredom, he turns his detective’s eye to one of England’s oldest unsolved mysteries: did the 15th-century King Richard III murder his nephews, the so-called ‘Princes in the Tower’? With the help of friends and researchers, Grant examines historical records and applies modern investigative reasoning, gradually building the case that King Richard’s dark reputation was the product of propaganda spread by his successor, Henry VII Tudor.
Reasons to read The Daughter of Time
“The Daughter of Time” is both a compelling detective novel and a reflection on historical truth and propaganda (its title comes from the proverb “Truth is the daughter of time”). This story of a policeman turned amateur historian became a bestseller upon its publication in 1951 and continues to spark debate about the guilt or innocence of Richard III. Josephine Tey – the pen name of Scottish writer Elizabeth MacKintosh – was one of the most original crime novelists of the twentieth century. In 1990, the British Crime Writers’ Association voted “The Daughter of Time” the greatest crime novel ever written.
Setting: London (England, UK)
Original title: The Daughter of Time
Year of publication: 1951
Nr of pages: 206
