…because this old and well-loved book which landed on my doorstep recently concerns a mystery about Richard 111 of England, formerly Duke of York, whose symbol was the white rose. The House of York and the the House of Lancaster, whose symbol was a red rose, fought a series of dynastic battles against one another in the fifteenth century.
In The Daughter of Time, Inspector Grant, a Scotland Yard detective, spending a period in hospital suffering immobility due to a broken leg, uses the time to overcome his boredom by pondering the mystery behind an old portrait of Richard 111. Grant approaches the mystery surrounding this enigmatic king in much the same way that he might apply his investigative powers to a criminal investigation and thus begins his effort at explaining the facts behind a mystery that has endured for four hundred years.
The story is fascinating, and the ruminations of the immobile inspector make his conclusions about this intriguing mystery of the past truly fascinating.
Josephine Tey was a pen name of Elizabeth MacKintosh, who wrote unconventional mysteries under the name Gordon Daviot as well. The Daughter of Time was almost her last novel before she died in 1952. The book is still available in paperback and kindle editions. Apparently her work motivated historians to reconsider their own conclusions about Richard 111.