Rating: 
Summary: A must for History Buffs & Supporters of poor Richard III.
Review: I was given this book by a friend who thought my one-eyed, anti- Richard III attitude was lacking in factual conviction. After having read this wonderfully well written book, I realised the dangers of basing ones opinions on facts that have been written by Victors. I am now more inclined to believe that while Richard III may have had a little wickedness in him, Henry VII would have had a lot more to answer to when he reached St Peter and the Pearly Gates. I thoroughly recommend 'The Daughter of Time'. It is a thought provoking read and makes you realise that you have to approach the 'facts' with a certain amount of sceptism. This book has made me a better historian. It provided me with a valuable lesson right from the start. Josephine Tey is a wonderful writer and I credit her as one of the two people who provided me with the inspiration and impetus to further my studies in history.
Rating: 
Summary: It was ok...but I wouldn't recommend it.
Review: Once when I finished the book, and thought about it, it was an ok story. However, when I was actually reading it, there were too many boring parts that made me stop reading because I was to distracted to go on. This book was required summer reading for a class that I will be taking as a sophomore. According to the other reviews on this site, I might be too young to appreciate the book and all of its qualities. Maybe as an adult, I might find reading it more enjoyable. There were two things that bugged me in the book that I wish to share with you before you decide to purchase the book. The first thing is that even though the book is about Richard III, toward the end, for three chapters, all she talked about was Edward IV and Henry VII. Switching to those two people, and then going back to Richard III really got me confused! The other thing that irked me was Tey didn't have a bibliography. I would like to know whether the books she used as references in the story are true.
Rating:
Summary: Daughter of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme
Review: Couldn't resist the Simon & Garfunkel reference.This is easily one of the best mysteries I have ever read, and believe me I do a lot of reading. While admittedly it sometimes gets a little difficult to follow at times, I found the whole premise so different and intriguing from other mysteries I have read that it kept me going. My first thought was it is surprising that other authors haven't really tried to duplicate this type of story, but I think anything would come up short. It's like hollywood trying to remake classics or follow the same storyline (it never works). There is only one "It's a Wonderful Life" and there is only one "Daughter of Time". I am looking forward to reading another Tey novel.
Rating:
Summary: Painfully dull.
Review: I'm a Ricardian. I don't think Richard did his nephews in. Neither do I think that this book is a classic. It has a rather simple premise, and Tey seems completely set upon raising Richard III to a sort of divine pedestal. The guy had flaws. He was responsible for beheading people, and was a king. He is one of my favorite characters in history, and Tey tries, she does...but it falls flat. Carradine got on my nerves as well. Sorry. If you want an admittedly romanticized (but far more interesting) book about Richard III, I would wholeheartedly suggest "The Sunne in Splendour". It is a finely crafted novel in which Sharon Kay Penman goes to show you that it is indeed very possible that Richard III was not the brute Will Shakespeare makes him out to be. Penman stays well within the historical boundaries (her reasearch is almost without boundaries).
Rating:
Summary: A great get-well gift
Review: This book definatly focuses more on character than action (unlike most mysteries, no one's life is endangered), but I found the combination of intellectual passion and frustration that drives Grant more than enough to make me want to keep turning the pages. It was given to me as a gift when I was bed-ridden and frustrated myself, and it not only diverted me, it inspired further distractions!
Rating:
Summary: Waiting for this stone's ripple to reach the shore
Review: The most fascinating thing about this very unusual mystery is its approach to mystery, motive, human nature...and most of all, its complete lack of new evidence. I'm a big fan of genre-busting, and am impressed that this book held my attention so well when the searchers found no new evidence, used no forensic evidence, had no bodies, and in fact (in the main character's case) almost never left the room. Tey does well with dialogue and characterization, and has an intriguingly skeptical view of history (and historians). The weakest parts of this book come when she tries to manufacture excitement; the intellectual thrill of discovering connections -- and unraveling false ones -- was enough to keep my interest, but I found myself unimpressed by her attempts to write visceral aHA!s into the scenes. It makes a better diatribe or historical essay than novel. I did enjoy the way in which Grant and Carradine look at motive and multiple sources and try to see if the entire puzzle fits together. It may not be scientific or conclusive, but it sure is convincing...but (having been inspired by the book's detectives) I'm on my way to find modern anti-Ricardians to see if Tey was just shooting at the easy marks... In the interest of full disclosure, I have taught Shakespeare's _Richard III_ in a high school before, and have studied the historical context of Richard III's rise and fall. I can imagine this book could be tedious reading for someone who hasn't studied British history, but if you're interested in the topic and the concept of mystery and/or history, I think you will enjoy this book. I found this book a thought-provoking exercise into the nature of subjectivity and objectivity, and liked it for that.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the most overrated mystery classics
Review: I had great difficulties through the years reading this book. After finally reading it from cover to cover, my opinion had not improved: its chief virtue is length (mercifully short). It is mostly boring and of interest chiefly to students of the famous Tower of London murders it "analyzes". This book owes its reputation chiefly to the rave review that the greatest of all mystery genre reviewers, the late Anthony Boucher, gave it. For once, I dissented greatly.
Rating:
Summary: A book I better appreciate now that I am older
Review: My last, and up to now, only encounter with this book was in high school English Literature. Although I found it interesting, it moved slowly. For some reason, I had to read it again recently - partly because of the title (I have often quoted the title in appropriate situations - thank you Anitra Freeman for giving us the full quote and source of this proverb). With the wisdom of years, I see in it the value of careful analysis and critical thinking even of accepted "truths", and the fact that some truths, even long-standing ones, are relative. Whether Richard III actually did murder his nephews or not is beside the point - I would recommend this book even to younger readers (which I once was)with the instruction that they consider carefully what it is that the main character is doing in this novel - that is, if they can get away from the electronic babble for a while.
Rating: 
Summary: Remind me to stay out of the hospital
Review: This book is largely interesting, to me, because of its perspective on historians. Being married to one, it is fascinating to look at how histories change over time. Our past is fluid, shifting with political tides. A given "fact" about history is always suspect, there will almost always be equally suspect sources that say otherwise. This book has little to offer those craving action; the protagonist is stuck in a hospital bed, pre-television. So he's stuck reading bad novels until someone brings him interesting portraints to look at. When nobody can identify Richard III's portrait as that of a cold-blooded murderer, he becomes obsessed as could only someone with a lot of time on his hands (or a graduate degree to earn). Eventually, he begins to collaborate with a graduate student who does the legwork involved in the research to find the truth behind Richard III. The satisfying denouement: somebody promises to write a book. This may not be everybody's idea of an exciting book, but I would imagine that if the attitudes of the general public towards Richard were represented by characters in the novel, the impact of reading this when it first came out would have been shocking. It's a shame that Robert Barnard didn't discuss this to any length in his introduction, instead apologizing for Tey's personal and political biases.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but a little boring and repetitive
Review: This book was assigned to my class as part of a summer assignment. My teacher assigned the book to illustrate how history is distorted and to teach us how we should interpret historical documents and textbooks. I felt the fictional aspect was extremely boring and repetitive.
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