Josephine Tey: The Daughter of Time & other mysteries

Dramatisations and readings of five of Josephine Tey''s classic mystery novels

Scottish novelist and playwright Josephine Tey was one of the greatest Golden Age crime writers and the author of eight mysteries, including six featuring Scotland Yard inspector Alan Grant. The most famous of these, The Daughter of Time, was acclaimed the greatest crime novel of all time by the Crime Writers'' Association. A full-cast dramatisation of this iconic story is included here, along with adaptations of four of her other much-loved mystery novels.

A Shilling for Candles
An independent-minded chief constable''s daughter meets a suspected killer in this re-imagining of Josephine Tey''s 1936 comedy thriller featuring Inspector Grant, starring Giles Fagan and Tilly Gaunt.

Miss Pym Disposes
Invited by her friend Henrietta to lecture at a physical education colllege, expert psychologist Miss Lucy Pym little suspects that among the healthy young women is someone with a mind sick enough to commit murder... Julia Foster stars as Miss Pym, with Joan Sims as Henrietta.

The Franchise Affair
A 15-year-old schoolgirl accuses Marion Sharpe and her mother of kidnapping and beating her. Can solicitor Robert Blair prove the women''s innocence? An abridged reading by Edward Petherbridge.

The Daughter of Time
In hospital with a broken leg, Inspector Grant is bored. To pass the time, he decides to try and solve one of history''s most famous puzzles: did Richard II really kill the Princes in the Tower? Peter Gilmore stars as Alan Grant.

The Singing Sands
Travelling to the Highlands by train, Inspector Grant ends up investigating the mysterious death of the man in compartment B7. An abridged reading by Paul Young of Tey''s final novel, published posthumously in 1952.

Also included is a Woman''s Hour discussion of the life of Josephine Tey, with Andrew Taylor and fellow author Nicola Upson, whose bestselling crime novels feature Tey as the detective heroine.


A Shilling for Candles
Tisdall - Giles Fagan
Erica - Tilly Gaunt
Pottinger - Steve Hodson
Bergoine - Stephen Thorne
Grant - Ben Crowe
Albert Clay - Harry Myers
Hopgood - Geoffrey Whitehead
Martha - Frances Jeater
Dramatised by John Fletcher
Directed by Tabitha Potts
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 5 December 1998

Miss Pym Disposes
Lucy Pym - Julia Foster
Henrietta Hodge - Joan Sims
Teresa Desterro - Julia Swift
Miss Lux - Polly James
Miss Wragg - Zelah Clarke
Madame Lefevre - Margaret Robertson
Fröken Gustavson - Diana Olsson
Miss Meek - Eva Stuart
Miss Nash - Deborah Makepeace
Miss Innes - Moir Leslie
Miss Rouse - Susan Sheridan
Miss O''Donnell - Felicity Hayes-McCoy
Miss Dakers - Denica Fairman
Miss Gage - Caroline Gruber
Mr Nash - Michael Deacon
Mrs Nash - Eva Stuart
Rick - Paul Sirr
Dramatised by Elizabeth Proud
Directed by Glyn Dearman
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 December 1987

The Franchise Affair
Read by Edward Petherbridge
Abridged by Pat McLoughlin
Editor: Sally Feldman
Music: Bush''s Music for Orchestra
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 7-23 May 1991

The Daughter of Time
Alan Grant - Peter Gilmore
Nurse Ingham - Frances Jeater
Nurse Darroll - Jill Lidstone
Marta Hallard - Rosalind Shanks
Brent Carradine - Simon Hewitt
Richard - Steve Hodson
Tyrrel - Nigel Lambert
Brackenbury - Lewis Stringer
Lady Paston - Miranda Forbes
Edward - Graham Faulkner
Matron - Katherine Parr
Williams - Stuart Organ
Morton - Peter Tuddenham
Buckingham - Alex Jennings
Stillington - James Thomason
Sir John - Alaric Cotter
Dramatised by Neville Teller
Directed by Graham Gauld
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 August 1982

The Singing Sands
Read by Paul Young
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
First broadcast BBC Radio 7, 17-20 March 2008

Woman''s Hour discussion
Presented by Jane Garvey
With Nicola Upson and Andrew Taylor
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 February 2008