Brat Farrar (1949)

"I love books from the golden age of mystery. The British Library does a nice series, republishing some of them, and when I see one I almost always buy it. I’ve also read books by other popular golden age crime writers, like Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham. Josephine Tey is the only one that made me want to read all her books. There aren’t many, as she died young, but they’re all a little bit different. Some feature Detective Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard. In one, The Daughter of Time, Grant solves a historical crime, showing (rightly or wrongly) that Richard III was not a murderer. Brat Farrar is my favourite and just a beautifully done book. The setting is a house in the English countryside on the south coast, surrounded by paddocks with horses, where Aunt Bee is bringing up her four nephews and nieces. Simon, the oldest, is about to come of age, which will finally solve all their money problems, however… Books by Josephine Tey, listed in order of publication"