Yay, so glad Miss Tey finally gets her video! I'm the biggest cheerleader of "A Shilling for Candles"--one of the best examples of an ending where the author has the courage to *go there*, and it doesn't feel forced or impossible. The rest of the novel doesn't feel irrelevant or forgettable after you've read the final page, either. Thrilled to see it as high as it is on your list!
I had not previously read that book and I really enjoyed the journey once I realized what Tey was doing and I (mostly) figured it out. It was a fun ride. It doesn't always happen when you solve it too early.
Subscribed finally thanks to Tey, and your two top rankings - fully agree! And as decades-long member of the Richard III Society, I appreciate your looking at this author!
This was wonderful! Thank you for this video, it was well worth the wait! Great balanced discussion of the Franchise Affair. Totally agree about your top three, which would be easy to shuffle around and put any at the top. Great discussion of all three. I'd rank the other 5 similarly to you, except I'd put Miss Pym at #4 because yes, you are alone in that opinion! Which is fine, and you have caused me to see it differently - I think I was previously too focused on the character of Miss Pym and the school environment, and kind of missed the meandering nature of the plot. I think Tey is brilliant - very flawed, often irritating, and brilliant. As her top 3 novels show, she made a point of being original, finding new ways and new ideas and I really admire that.
I think all of her mystery novels bring something new to the table. And like I said I like Miss Pym the character and the overall setting and plot but I did find myself just not getting into it. It did meander for a long time and in the end, I just didn't feel like much of that leadup content really went anywhere.
I haven't read any of her works, but I did see a television adaptation of Brat Farrar, and thought it was excellent. So, the next time I'm in the library or a used bookstore, I shall look for these.
@@summationgathering The 1988 adaptation of Franchise Affair is excellent too, if a tad low budget. It's available on TH-cam. It stars Patrick Malahide, the actor who was Roderick Alleyn.
I am glad you managed to do Tey at long last - she is infinitely better than Allingham and Queen and most certainly than all the Miss Silver nonsense. Up there with Christie and Marsh. But Sands is better than Shilling.
I agree Tey is above Allingham. I'm not sure I would agree with her being above Queen. I think she's probably better than Marsh. That's close because I think there are aspects, mainly the writing, that Tey outdoes Marsh but also times when Marsh outdoes Tey. Sands and Shilling, along with To Love and Be Wise, were very close imo.
Loved Franchise and Brat - they seemed like Christies she never wrote, on a par with Endless Night. I made it to the part of Daughter of Time where a nurse looks at the portrait of Richard III, and she says he looks anxious and like he has a disease of some kind, and that's supposed to be part of evidence he couldn't have killed his nephews. I recall liking the writing, but the main premise seemed so unlikely, I left it there.
The Daughter of Time is definitely not for everybody for sure. I didn't really bring it up but that novel, at times, gets dangerously close to eugenics and judging people's characters based on how they look. Not the only book to do it either.
I really enjoyed your video! But we seriously disagree. Both Miss Pym and Singing Sands are at the top of my list, along with Brat Farrar (while the Daughter of Time isn't). As to Miss Pym: yes, the murder takes place very late in the novel. But the way you are led to it is masterful: you know there is a disaster waiting to happen, and the tension and suspense just keep building up. And that closed world and its characters are fascinating. Singing Sands: the atmosphere and details of Scotland are incredible and I loved the way Grant kept trying and trying: a dead end here and a dead end there, and he just doesn't give up.
I respect that. I know a lot of people were not going to believe I put Miss Pym Disposes at the bottom. I just didn't connect with it, not that I found it all bad. The Singing Sands, To Love and Be Wise and A Shilling For Candles were all pretty close in my opinion.
Really enjoyed this - I read these books a long time ago and should re-read, or listen to audiobook. Some are or were on TH-cam, I think by BBC.
I believe most of the audiobooks are on TH-cam. That's the case for many authors.
Yay, so glad Miss Tey finally gets her video! I'm the biggest cheerleader of "A Shilling for Candles"--one of the best examples of an ending where the author has the courage to *go there*, and it doesn't feel forced or impossible. The rest of the novel doesn't feel irrelevant or forgettable after you've read the final page, either. Thrilled to see it as high as it is on your list!
I had not previously read that book and I really enjoyed the journey once I realized what Tey was doing and I (mostly) figured it out. It was a fun ride. It doesn't always happen when you solve it too early.
Subscribed finally thanks to Tey, and your two top rankings - fully agree! And as decades-long member of the Richard III Society, I appreciate your looking at this author!
Thanks!
Tey's writing is just a joy to read: such beautifully constructed sentences.
It really is. Tey's one of the best writers in the genre for sure.
This was wonderful! Thank you for this video, it was well worth the wait! Great balanced discussion of the Franchise Affair. Totally agree about your top three, which would be easy to shuffle around and put any at the top. Great discussion of all three. I'd rank the other 5 similarly to you, except I'd put Miss Pym at #4 because yes, you are alone in that opinion! Which is fine, and you have caused me to see it differently - I think I was previously too focused on the character of Miss Pym and the school environment, and kind of missed the meandering nature of the plot. I think Tey is brilliant - very flawed, often irritating, and brilliant. As her top 3 novels show, she made a point of being original, finding new ways and new ideas and I really admire that.
I think all of her mystery novels bring something new to the table. And like I said I like Miss Pym the character and the overall setting and plot but I did find myself just not getting into it. It did meander for a long time and in the end, I just didn't feel like much of that leadup content really went anywhere.
I haven’t read her work, thanks for the heads up. I know where to start. 😊
I discovered this author just a few months ago and I have two on list.
I haven't read any of her works, but I did see a television adaptation of Brat Farrar, and thought it was excellent. So, the next time I'm in the library or a used bookstore, I shall look for these.
I have not seen adaptation of Brat Farrar but I found it online so it's on my to be watched list.
@@summationgathering The 1988 adaptation of Franchise Affair is excellent too, if a tad low budget. It's available on TH-cam. It stars Patrick Malahide, the actor who was Roderick Alleyn.
I am glad you managed to do Tey at long last - she is infinitely better than Allingham and Queen and most certainly than all the Miss Silver nonsense. Up there with Christie and Marsh. But Sands is better than Shilling.
I agree Tey is above Allingham. I'm not sure I would agree with her being above Queen. I think she's probably better than Marsh. That's close because I think there are aspects, mainly the writing, that Tey outdoes Marsh but also times when Marsh outdoes Tey. Sands and Shilling, along with To Love and Be Wise, were very close imo.
Loved Franchise and Brat - they seemed like Christies she never wrote, on a par with Endless Night.
I made it to the part of Daughter of Time where a nurse looks at the portrait of Richard III, and she says he looks anxious and like he has a disease of some kind, and that's supposed to be part of evidence he couldn't have killed his nephews. I recall liking the writing, but the main premise seemed so unlikely, I left it there.
The Daughter of Time is definitely not for everybody for sure. I didn't really bring it up but that novel, at times, gets dangerously close to eugenics and judging people's characters based on how they look. Not the only book to do it either.
I really enjoyed your video! But we seriously disagree. Both Miss Pym and Singing Sands are at the top of my list, along with Brat Farrar (while the Daughter of Time isn't). As to Miss Pym: yes, the murder takes place very late in the novel. But the way you are led to it is masterful: you know there is a disaster waiting to happen, and the tension and suspense just keep building up. And that closed world and its characters are fascinating. Singing Sands: the atmosphere and details of Scotland are incredible and I loved the way Grant kept trying and trying: a dead end here and a dead end there, and he just doesn't give up.
I respect that. I know a lot of people were not going to believe I put Miss Pym Disposes at the bottom. I just didn't connect with it, not that I found it all bad. The Singing Sands, To Love and Be Wise and A Shilling For Candles were all pretty close in my opinion.
You could have mentioned that Hitchcock based Young and Innocent - very loosely - on Shilling.
I never saw the film.