tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post8507909965920421019..comments2023-11-05T19:08:10.849-08:00Comments on Booked for LIfe: The 1936 Club: A Shilling for Candles Ruthiellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-39639238632943181382021-05-25T00:13:54.873-07:002021-05-25T00:13:54.873-07:00Absolutely. And as Simon Thomas of Stuck in a Book...Absolutely. And as Simon Thomas of Stuck in a Book recently pointed out, no doubt works published now will be later excoriated by future generations for similar reasons. Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-76144322507538969822021-05-24T05:44:43.376-07:002021-05-24T05:44:43.376-07:00Reading older titles often brings me right into th...Reading older titles often brings me right into the times in which they were written. We forget sometimes that things weren't always like they are now.Deb Nance at Readerbuzzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12128529491888701996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-60680864746601439072021-05-18T17:17:01.964-07:002021-05-18T17:17:01.964-07:00I think The Daughter of Time is her best known wor...I think The Daughter of Time is her best known work and if you only want to read one from her oeuvre, that's a good one to pick! I also still think about it from time to time. I really like the idea of trying to solve a historical mystery. Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-40129678385850685762021-05-18T17:15:22.279-07:002021-05-18T17:15:22.279-07:00Hi Janakay! The Daughter of Time is still my favor...Hi Janakay! The Daughter of Time is still my favorite of Tey's novels. I bought all of her books in used paperbacks a few years ago and have been making my way through them ever since. Generally I like a mystery and have a higher tolerance for weak spots in that genre than I do in other book genres.Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-25024735323353482122021-05-18T17:13:11.478-07:002021-05-18T17:13:11.478-07:00Hi Carol. I too have been reading a lot but not b...Hi Carol. I too have been reading a lot but not blogging. Hopefully I will adapt better habits soon. Binging on Christie sounds heavenly! Here books also will vary in quality, but I love reading and re-reading them. Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-58339574135150787192021-05-17T17:22:43.784-07:002021-05-17T17:22:43.784-07:00Hi Ruthiella! Seems like ages since we've cha...Hi Ruthiella! Seems like ages since we've chatted! I keep trying to follow your blog, but something seems to go astray.<br />Enjoyed the review -- I've been curious about this book in a mild way, mostly because I think the title is so great. I enjoy Golden Age fiction but usually don't go out of my way to seek it out. My only Josephine Tey to date has been "Daughter of Time," which is pretty hard to beat!janakayhttp://youmightaswellread.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-33438211735833832222021-05-07T00:01:27.281-07:002021-05-07T00:01:27.281-07:00I've enjoyed all of her books but there are de...I've enjoyed all of her books but there are definitely some that are better than others. I found To Love & Be Wise was one of those hit & misses compares to some of the others. I've been bingeing on Agatha Christie lately. Not writing much though!Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-41314507607559252192021-04-25T06:43:00.936-07:002021-04-25T06:43:00.936-07:00I'm interested in this one. The Daughter of T...I'm interested in this one. The Daughter of Time is one of those books I read decades ago and still think about, but I've only read one other book by Tey.jenclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-85012257733635183282021-04-17T21:43:20.019-07:002021-04-17T21:43:20.019-07:00Thansk Cleo. Alas this book will be my only trip i...Thansk Cleo. Alas this book will be my only trip into 1936 for this year's club, though I look forward to reading everyone else's posts about what they read. <br /><br />Erica really was great. I would have easily read an entire book with her as the main sleuth. I wonder why Tey didn't do this or why her editor did not encourage her to do so.Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-15047576910720075012021-04-17T21:40:24.540-07:002021-04-17T21:40:24.540-07:00Hi Kathy, I really liked the historical aspects of...Hi Kathy, I really liked the historical aspects of The Daughter of Time. Before I read it, I didn't know there was major historical dissention about what really happened to the princes in the tower and Richard III's legitimacy as monarch. <br /><br />As reese points out above, those left field solutions are maybe to be expected in crime fiction of this era. Still, I like the murderer's motivation to make sense. :D Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-50577631480920220302021-04-17T21:37:28.646-07:002021-04-17T21:37:28.646-07:00You can definitely start with any of her books. Th...You can definitely start with any of her books. There is no progression with the Inspector Grant novels, no revelation about backstory or anything. If you do start with Miss Pym Disposes, there is also a really good podcast episode discussing the book in depth on the Backlisted podcast: https://www.backlisted.fm/episodes/133-josephine-tey-miss-pym-disposes .Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-8054733453421585292021-04-17T21:34:38.204-07:002021-04-17T21:34:38.204-07:00You are all too right in noting that left field so...You are all too right in noting that left field solutions are not uncommon in Golden Age detective fiction! Maybe that is part of its charm. I have liked all the Tey books I have read so far, though my favorite is still probably The Daughter of Time. <br /><br />Anti-Semitism is all too common and I find it particularly jarring in authors I love and want to perceive as kindly, like Trollope. Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-30830768612456179952021-04-17T21:31:07.229-07:002021-04-17T21:31:07.229-07:00Thanks for the comment CLM! I think that Tey is in...Thanks for the comment CLM! I think that Tey is interesting as a writer because she had the potential to build any number of her books in to popular Poirot or Miss Marple like series and yet she did not. I will have to find a good biography on her and see if there is any reason for this. Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-15187352962857571732021-04-17T21:29:32.699-07:002021-04-17T21:29:32.699-07:00Thanks for the comment Simon! I was a little struc...Thanks for the comment Simon! I was a little struck as well by her acknowledging Inspector Grant's reluctance to tread a Lord as a "usual suspect" specifically due to his class. She was an interesting writer for a lot of reasons. Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-48717983288023069092021-04-15T23:45:33.350-07:002021-04-15T23:45:33.350-07:00I felt exactly the same way as you: a good book bu...I felt exactly the same way as you: a good book but not Tey's best. And Erica was delightful, wasn't she? I wish we had more of her.<br /><br />Enjoy your journey through 1936!Cleohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13152128642971612433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-62471925548820144762021-04-12T23:51:06.027-07:002021-04-12T23:51:06.027-07:00Hi Ruthiella, I did read Daughter of Time which I ...Hi Ruthiella, I did read Daughter of Time which I very much enjoyed. A Shilling for Candles sounds interesting too but I know what you mean when the resolution to the mystery comes out of left field. You are introduced to all these suspects but if the killer turns out to be some random person or the motive for the death comes out of left field that can be disappointing to the reader. I am thinking of including a 1936 book this year myself.Kathy's Cornerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03967595794483824444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-53260136347751420632021-04-12T13:33:05.334-07:002021-04-12T13:33:05.334-07:00I do like Golden Age crime fiction, and Tey has be...I do like Golden Age crime fiction, and Tey has been on my list of authors I need to read at some point, but I'll have to start with one of her books that my library has...and they don't have this one. They do have The Singing Sands and Miss Pym Disposes, so I'll probably read one of those this summer.Lark https://www.blogger.com/profile/13777891312147377769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-80658753858289416362021-04-12T08:19:07.427-07:002021-04-12T08:19:07.427-07:00I haven't read this one myself. Like you, I gu...I haven't read this one myself. Like you, I guess I find Tey a bit and miss, but this one does sound like it would be worth it--and one would never read Golden Age detective stories if you couldn't tolerate the occasional left-field solution...<br /><br />There's a bit of casual but jarring Semitic stereotyping expressed in Novel on Yellow Paper, which I've just finished. But Stevie Smith recognizes that people say these sorts of things, and maybe (?) they don't mean a lot by it, but in any case in 1936 it's time to quit it.reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818057262934008241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-7257917997129135002021-04-12T06:35:03.838-07:002021-04-12T06:35:03.838-07:00I love Tey but agree this is not one of her most e...I love Tey but agree this is not one of her most enthralling (although a weak book from her is still better than most). Interesting observation about Grant - yes, she really makes him almost bland, although he has the potential to be more dynamic. I suppose she didn't want him to detract from the characters in the investigation. CLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03595294217111602231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-68816391243553638332021-04-12T02:20:57.712-07:002021-04-12T02:20:57.712-07:00I haven't heard of this one! Really interestin...I haven't heard of this one! Really interesting that she calls out class stuff at a time when that was unusual - and yet clearly had her own blind spots.Simon T (StuckinaBook)http://www.stuckinabook.comnoreply@blogger.com