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[Bonus] Read Along: Daughter of Time
2 Playsin 18 hours
Over three episodes, Brook and Sarah break down Josephine Tey's classic novel The Daughter of Time (1951). The first episode looks at chapters 1 through 5. The remaining episodes are available subscribers of the free Clued in Chronicle. (Sign up here: https://cluedinmystery.com/clued-in-chronicle/)
Discussed and mentioned
The Daughter of Time (1951) Josephine Tey
Rear Window (1954) Alfred Hitchcock film
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Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers – www.silvermansound.com
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For a full episode transcript, visit https://cluedinmystery.com/bonus-daughter-of-time-read-along/
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Transcript
Introduction and Theme of Episode
00:00:10
Speaker
Welcome to a Cluedin' Bonus episode. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke, and we both love mystery. Brooke. Hi, Sarah.
Read-Along of 'The Daughter of Time'
00:00:21
Speaker
We're ready to begin our read-along of Josephine Tay's The Daughter of Time. Yes, and this is going to be really interesting because we are also doing a deep dive into Josephine Tay as our Golden Age author for this season. And so it will be really nice to talk about some of her work in more depth as well as talk about her when we get to that episode.
Book Structure and Newsletter Promotion
00:00:47
Speaker
Absolutely. So today we're going to be discussing chapters one through five and we'll continue to break down the book a few chapters at a time. It's a rather short book, but we'll hope that you'll read along. And in order to hear the rest of our discussion, you'll want to go over and subscribe to the Clueden Chronicle, which is our semi-monthly newsletter.
00:01:08
Speaker
That's right. And it's free to subscribe.
First Impressions of Josephine Tay's Work
00:01:11
Speaker
So Brooke, I will be honest that I've read this book already. i actually read it a few years ago, but you know me and my fabulous memory.
00:01:24
Speaker
I remember really enjoying it. So I'm looking forward to reading it and discussing it with you. Yes. And this is a brand new author for me. Like, of course, I knew the name Josephine Tay. I know that she's a big name in like classic mystery, but this is my first chance to read any of her books.
00:01:43
Speaker
And already in this first little section of the book where we're getting this set up and we're meeting for me and meeting meeting Inspector Grant. I am enjoying it so much.
00:01:57
Speaker
Well, that's so good to hear because this book is often on lists that you will see of the greatest mysteries of all time.
Inspector Grant's Hospital Scenes
00:02:07
Speaker
And in fact, the copy that I have on the front cover, it says one of the best mysteries of all time, the New York Times. So, you know, obviously the New York Times at some point published ah that list of of, you know, what they have described as the best mysteries of all time. and And this book was on it. And I guess we can talk about after we've read the whole book, whether we agree with that placement.
00:02:31
Speaker
um But this is a bit of a departure for her detective because he's actually in bed, isn't he? He's he's recovering from an accident.
00:02:42
Speaker
And we meet him not at the police station, but in the hospital. Yes, and i loved this part of the opening when we meet him. after Grant is laid up. He's recuperating after getting injured and having a foot chase with a criminal.
00:02:59
Speaker
And then comes in Marta Hallard, who I'm assuming is going to kind of be the love
Historical Context of Richard III
00:03:04
Speaker
interest. And they have this really great witty banter. And all I kept thinking about in this scene was um how similar it was to what we get in Rear Window,
00:03:15
Speaker
When Jimmy Stewart's character, he's laid up. He's not the kind of guy to typically just lay around. He wants to be out and about. um And in comes the ingenue. And she kind of like helps.
00:03:31
Speaker
In this situation, she helps ah him get over his boredom by providing him with um some entertainment. That's right. She gives him a selection of ah portraits or or copies of portraits ah and it suggests that he choose one to investigate.
00:03:54
Speaker
Yeah, I liked it. She said, you know, I know how much you like faces. And so we kind of get this idea that, you know, every sleuth kind of has their little area of expertise. So I feel like Grant is someone who knows how to read faces and kind of understand people through their expressions and their and their face. And he says, um you know, he looks at this portrait of Richard III, who is who he chooses, and he doesn't appear to be a villain to him.
Grant's Observations and Historical Parallels
00:04:21
Speaker
Yeah, so despite his skill at assessing people, he's a bit surprised when he realizes who it is that he has selected because he initially ah thought that he looked like he might be a judge ah rather than someone who would be standing before a judge as ah as a criminal.
00:04:41
Speaker
So in English history, and there's a period called the War of the Roses, and it's two warring families, the Yorks and the Lancasters, and and Richard III is a member of the York side of the conflict.
00:04:57
Speaker
And the scandal surrounding him is that, ah so his older brother was the King, King Edward who dies and he leaves behind two young sons who, um, Richard becomes their, um, guardian, and essentially becomes the ruler in their stead because they're, they're young. They're, you know, eight and 10 or 10 and 12. I can't remember.
00:05:26
Speaker
ah But during his watch, the boys disappear. And there's a lot of question to this day surrounding what happened to them.
00:05:42
Speaker
ah So their bodies were found in the Tower of London in and a stairwell. And I actually don't remember when their bodies were found. I don't remember if they were found while, like if they're their remains were found while Richard was um ruling England or whether that happened afterwards. But there was lots of speculation that he was involved in their disappearance.
00:06:14
Speaker
That's right. And um when you mentioned the War of the Roses, I have to say this is a moment where there's a lot of humor in Grant's ah character, but just also just, I think, in Tay's writing. And they've they remark how the War of the Roses was almost like a private party and all rather like following rival football teams.
00:06:37
Speaker
So this idea that this war is going on, but really the people of the country are just kind of like oblivious to all the happenings that are taking place.
Discussion on Historical Accuracy
00:06:50
Speaker
Yeah, that's, I think, very true. And I agree. I think she's a very adept observer, right? of people. We see that in her writing. She gives that to, she gives that skill to Grant.
00:07:05
Speaker
um And, you know, we see that in the way that he has analyzed the various people that he interacts with at the hospital, right? His nurses. um And ah he's assigned them whole backstories based on his, you know, interactions over the past a few nights or or a few weeks that he's been in hospital.
00:07:27
Speaker
Yeah, and it's it's really humorous. And you can see his his boredom, right, and his restlessness. He's result resorted to creating backstories for the staff, and it's all it's really endearing.
00:07:42
Speaker
I liked the thought of this, like because he starts talking to his nurses or different members of the staff about the history of Richard III. And they start questioning like everything they learned in school about this history.
00:07:57
Speaker
you you know, their country's history. And it really makes you think about the way that history is written down and like, what is the truth behind it? And what are we told that makes the narrative work?
00:08:08
Speaker
um So i I enjoy that. And I expect that it will kind of unfold as the book continues. Yeah. i I like that observation, Brooke, that, um you know, we kind of get, you know,
00:08:24
Speaker
A sense of Richard III, who um has been dead for hundreds of years, from the history that has been passed down during that time about him.
00:08:38
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Even one of the books that he first gets his hands on, because even lying there looking at this portrait, then he's like, oh, well, okay, what do I remember about Richard III? So he starts asking people for, do they have a history book?
00:08:50
Speaker
And one of the first ones he gets is like the children's history book. So like probably like a picture book that, and it's like kind of paragraph, but it illustrates that idea of like many of these big ah moments in our history,
00:09:05
Speaker
The little nugget that we have is just maybe amounts to a couple of sentences. And yet we believe it with our whole heart. Like, well, this is exactly what happened. And of course, he's going to determine, I think, that that's not the case in this situation.
00:09:19
Speaker
Well, yeah, I mean, I think that's that's the rest of the book, right, is that he's going to do this investigation and and try and determine, okay, what what really happened to those boys?
Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser
00:09:30
Speaker
Exactly. Well, so I think we have been set up for a great story, Brooke. And when we meet again, we will have read through to the end of chapter 10.
00:09:43
Speaker
That's right. And so everyone, if you're following along, ah that's the next section. Don't read ahead. We'll just discuss that chunk the next time. um And thank you for joining us today. We hope that you go over and subscribe to the Cluedin Chronicles so you can be a part of the rest of this project.
00:10:01
Speaker
But for today, thank you for joining us on Cluedin Mystery. I'm Brooke. And I'm Sarah. And we both love mystery. Clued in Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen.
00:10:15
Speaker
Music is by Shane Ivers. If you liked what you heard, please consider telling a friend, leaving a review, or subscribing with your favorite podcast listening app. Visit our website to sign up for our newsletter, The Clued in Chronicle, and get mystery news, podcast updates, and bonus episodes.
00:10:31
Speaker
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