A hearty hello.

by chuckofish

Well, Daughter #1 here, for the first time in several weeks. I’ve been sick and work has been busy. A tale as old as time. But, we’ve made it to the end of January and that is worth celebrating!

While I was sick last weekend, I started re-reading The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. The book is a 1951 detective novel, concerning a modern police officer’s investigation into the alleged crimes of King Richard III.

As summarized on Wikipedia, “Scotland Yard  Inspector Alan Grant is feeling bored while confined to bed in hospital with a broken leg. Marta Hallard, an actress friend of his, brings him some pictures of historical characters, aware of Grant’s interest in human faces. He becomes intrigued by a portrait of King Richard III. He prides himself on being able to read a person’s character from his appearance, and King Richard seems to him a gentle, kind and wise man. Why is everyone so sure that he was a cruel murderer?

With the help of other friends and acquaintances, Grant investigates Richard’s life and the case of the Princes in the Tower, testing out his theories on the doctors and nurses who attend to him. Grant spends weeks pondering historical information and documents with the help of Brent Carradine, a likable young American researcher working in the British Museum. Using his detective’s logic, he comes to the conclusion that the claim of Richard being a murderer is a fabrication of Tudor propaganda, as is the popular image of the King as a monstrous hunchback.”

It is a very clever mystery that manages to remain interesting despite the main character never leaving his hospital room! It’s also a fascinating look at how history is written and things become accepted as truth.

Anyway, I’m better now and back on Friday blog duty. I’m looking forward to my regular weekend routine and wine time! And just because my mother shared a Mr. Smith photo doesn’t mean I can’t also.