The Golden Age of Mystery: Josephine Tey

This week as I continue my little essays on the ladies of The Golden Age of Mystery, my subject is Josephine Tey, a pen name used by Scottish author Elizabeth Mackintosh (1896-1952). She also wrote plays under the pen name Gordon Daviot.

She created Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant as her sleuth and wrote five novels featuring him. The Daughter of Time is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, mystery novel of all time. Alan Grant also appears in a sixth novel The Franchise Affair as a minor character. She wrote two other mystery novels that did not feature Grant.

Although her mystery novel output was small compared to other writers of the Golden Age of Mystery, she had great influence on authors such as Mary Stewart and Elizabeth Peters (pen name of Barbara Mertz). She is mentioned in Stephen King's novella Apt Pupil. Nicola Upson wrote a series titled the Josephine Tey Mysteries in which Tey is the main character.

It has been many years since I read her mysteries and, as a result of researching this little piece, I want to go back and reread them. I am also intrigued by the Nicola Upson series.