WRITER

Josephine Tey

1896 - 1952

Photo of Josephine Tey

Icon of person Josephine Tey

Elizabeth MacKintosh (25 July 1896 – 13 February 1952), known by the pen name Josephine Tey, was a Scottish author. Her novel The Daughter of Time, a detective work investigating the death of the Princes in the Tower, was chosen by the Crime Writers' Association in 1990 as the greatest crime novel of all time. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Josephine Tey has received more than 649,720 page views. Her biography is available in 22 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 20 in 2019). Josephine Tey is the 2,779th most popular writer (up from 3,262nd in 2019), the 2,073rd most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 2,418th in 2019) and the 229th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 650k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 53.54

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 22

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.81

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.87

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

A Shilling for Candles (Inspector Alan Grant #2)
Police, Alan Grant (Fictitious character), Fiction
1936
The Man in the Queue (Inspector Alan Grant #1)
Police, Alan Grant (Fictitious character), Fiction
1927
To Love And Be Wise (Inspector Alan Grant #4)
Alan Grant (Fictitious character), Fiction, Fiction in English
The whole art colony at Salcott St. Mary would have agreed with popular authoress Lavinia Finch when she remarked about her American guest: “I’m sure he must have been something very wicked in ancient Greece.” The too-handsome, rich, famous Leslie Searle had created havoc at Salcott. He was about to break up an engagement and ruin a smug broadcaster; he'd already insulted a leading playwright and caused a public scandal. Then - without reason or warning - he disappeared. And Inspector Grant of Scotland Yard was called in to investigate a case of possible amnesia, suicide, or homicide! -Los Angeles Times
1950
Brat Farrar
Condensed books, English language, Fiction
In this tale of mystery and suspense, a stranger enters the inner sanctum of the Ashby family posing as Patrick Ashby, the heir to the family's sizable fortune. The stranger, Brat Farrar, has been carefully coached on Patrick's mannerism's, appearance, and every significant detail of Patrick's early life, up to his thirteenth year when he disappeared and was thought to have drowned himself. It seems as if Brat is going to pull off this most incredible deception until old secrets emerge that jeopardize the impostor's plan and his life.
1949
The Franchise Affair (Inspector Alan Grant #3)
Fiction, mystery
Robert Blair was about to knock off from a slow day at his law firm when the phone rang. It was Marion Sharpe on the line, a local woman of quiet disposition who lived with her mother at their decrepit country house, The Franchise. It appeared that she was in some serious trouble: Miss Sharpe and her mother were accused of brutally kidnapping a demure young woman named Betty Kane. Miss Kane’s claims seemed highly unlikely, even to Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, until she described her prison – the attic room with its cracked window, the kitchen, and the old trunks – which sounded remarkably like The Franchise. Yet Marion Sharpe claimed the Kane girl had never been there, let alone been held captive for an entire month! Not believing Betty Kane’s story, Solicitor Blair takes up the case and, in a dazzling feat of amateur detective work, solves the unbelievable mystery that stumped even Inspector Grant.
1948
The Daughter of Time
Alan Grant (Fictitious character), Fiction, Fiction in English
Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, recuperating from a broken leg, becomes fascinated with a contemporary portrait of Richard III that bears no resemblance to the Wicked Uncle of history. Could such a sensitive, noble face actually belong to one of the world’s most heinous villains—a venomous hunchback who may have killed his brother’s children to make his crown secure? Or could Richard have been the victim, turned into a monster by the usurpers of England’s throne? Grant determines to find out once and for all, with the help of the British Museum and an American scholar, what kind of man Richard Plantagenet really was and who killed the Little Princes in the Tower. The Daughter of Time is an ingeniously plotted, beautifully written, and suspenseful tale, a supreme achievement from one of mystery writing’s most gifted masters.
1951

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Josephine Tey ranks 2,779 out of 7,302. Before her are Tang Xianzu, Alexandre Herculano, Sibilla Aleramo, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Varian Fry, and Aasmund Olavsson Vinje. After her are Larry Niven, Marion Chesney, Guido Guinizelli, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, Carl Sandburg, and Kamo no Chōmei.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1896, Josephine Tey ranks 127. Before her are Prince Wolfgang of Hesse, Heimito von Doderer, John of Shanghai and San Francisco, Raymond Massey, Johannes Kleiman, and Besse Cooper. After her are Ramón Franco, Jacques Duclos, Dodie Smith, Ieronim Uborevich, Josef Kammhuber, and Philip Showalter Hench. Among people deceased in 1952, Josephine Tey ranks 80. Before her are Theodoros Pangalos, Carl Tanzler, Juan Yagüe, Mauno Pekkala, Vasili Eroshenko, and Rued Langgaard. After her are Silvio Cator, Maurice De Waele, John Garfield, Richard Hildebrandt, Takenoshin Nakai, and Vladimir Albitsky.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Josephine Tey ranks 2,073 out of 8,785. Before her are Edward Balliol (1283), Glenn Murcutt (1936), Robert Holdstock (1948), Steve Winwood (1948), Alexander Parkes (1813), and David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (1871). After her are Marion Chesney (1936), David Byrne (1952), Roderick Murchison (1792), Frank Finlay (1926), James Herriot (1916), and Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany (1182).

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Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, Josephine Tey ranks 229. Before her are Marjorie Boulton (1924), Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster (1310), Thomas Gray (1716), Thomas Kyd (1558), Samuel Smiles (1812), and Robert Holdstock (1948). After her are Marion Chesney (1936), James Herriot (1916), George Herbert (1593), John Webster (1578), Joseph Delaney (1945), and Irvine Welsh (1957).

British born Writers

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