The Daughter of Time

By Josephine Tey

Inspector Grant of the Scotland Yard is laid up in the hospital and bored out of his mind. Until he stumbles upon a historical mystery: the murder of the two young princes by their uncle, Richard III.
His investigation starts out with a picture of Richard III. Being a policeman, Grant is used to evaluating people by their appearance and his first impression of Richard III is that of a man of suffering and sorrow, but not a murderer.
So this contrast between Richard's face and what he was accused of doing seem, to Grant's policeman's thinking, to indicate a contradiction and so, with the help of a friend to do most of the research and lots of books, Grant sets out to gather the facts and sort out the truth of the matter: did Richard III contrive to have his two young nephews murdered to guarantee his own position on the throne of England?

It's a fascinating look back at a crime that is still wondered about today. And the author makes a very good case for Richard's innocence, especially as it seems that Richard would not have benefited from the boys' death. And, as the author makes clear, Henry VII, Richard's successor to the throne, was the more likely suspect to have had a hand in the deaths of the young princes. Even if you are not a fan of British history, still made for a pretty good story and a pretty convincing argument in Richard's favor.

New Words

Bathetic: effusively or insincerely emotional. 'To fall through a trap-door was the ultimate in absurdity; pantomimic, bathetic, grotesque.'

Hippocras: A cordial made of spiced wine. '"But I expect she was just a little tipsy. She is very fond of hippocras."'

Lag: a prisoner, a criminal. 'Kind, well-wishing letters from all sorts of people, including a few old lags.'

Attainder: The loss of civil rights following a sentence of death or outlawry for treason or felony. 'And if these were discounted, the first through illegitimacy and the second through attainder, there was another possible: his elder sister Elizabeth's boy.'

Conventicles: The Conventicle Act of 1664 was an Act of the Parliament of England that forbade religious assemblies of more than five people outside the auspices of the Church of England. This law was part of the programme of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, to discourage nonconformism and to strengthen the position of the Established Church. These prohibitions led many, such as the Covenanters, to vacate their parishes rather than submit to the new Episcopal authorities. Just as the ministers left so too did the congregations, following their old pastors to sermons on the hillside. From small beginnings these field assemblies-or conventicles-were to grow into major problems of public order for the government. '"If you went to church on Sunday instead of to a conventicle, you were liable to wake on Monday to find your barn burned or your horses ham-strung."'

Peradventure: chance, doubt or uncertainty; perchance or maybe; perhaps. '"But there's no peradventure about his activities once he was across the channel."'