Three by Tey: Miss Pym Disposes, The Franchise Affair, and Brat Farrar

I hate Miss Pym Disposes. I remember what's going to happen, and I get sick half-way through - about the time Rouse gets the appointment. The problem, of course, is that Tey writes so beautifully and expresses her characters so perfectly that I feel I know them - I have the same problem Miss Pym does, I can't view them abstractly and with detachment. Rouse is such a louse. I don't particularly identify with any of the students, but I've known people like most of them. It makes it very hard to read the story. But it's such a rich story I do keep rereading - after sufficient interval that I've forgotten the sick feeling it gives me. And I'll do it again.

The Franchise Affair, on the other hand, is lovely. There's much the same cast of show more characters, but in this case the liar and the criminal are the same person, so there's a firmly-established villain. Also, it ends with said villain properly punished and at least a good chance of a happy ending for the assorted protagonists - there is one person unfairly punished, but she's always been a peripheral character, and they discuss her but we don't see or speak to her afterward. Sad but not nearly as bad as Innes. And Robert's flowering throughout the story is excellent - as absorbing as the mystery itself. Though the final solving is beautiful - chance and persistence and it worked. Love it. Grant is a peripheral character in this - in fact, I don't think I'd count it as one of his. Specifically, we never get inside his head - there's some illumination of his thoughts and feelings in the case, but always by observation from the outside.

And I remembered Brat Farrar as much simpler - a bright four-color story where the deception was done with a good heart and the villain got his comeuppance in the end. Both facts are true, but it's certainly not a simple story. Though I figured out who Brat was quite early on. Simon and Timber - what a pair! The story stops quite abruptly, though not short - the adventure is complete. show less

In Miss Pym Disposes, Miss Pym is an accidental intellectual who is constantly surprised by the success of her common-sense book on psychology. She has been invited by an old schoolmate who is now the head of a girls' college to give a lecture on her subject. Miss Pym agrees and is pleasantly surprised to find herself enjoying the atmosphere of the school, Leys, very much. Leys specializes in physical education and much is made of the exhausting grind the students endure. Several characters suggest that their constant exhaustion could lead to psychological abnormalities, but Miss Pym sees none... until a very desirable appointment is given to an unpopular girl whom Miss Pym had caught cheating on her finals. The entirel school had show more assumed that the appointment would be given to the brilliant girl who was top in every examination, but for some odd reason the headmistress has chosen not to award it to that girl. And then the unpopular girl has a serious accident, so serious that she dies in the hospital a day later. Who would cause such an accident? Miss Pym finds herself in the path of the evidence and must decide what to do with her knowledge.

There is a wonderful little twist at the end, and as with all good twists you can see its first appearances far earlier in the story. This mystery is very character-driven, and as usual Tey's characters are realistic and memorable. Great prose, great plot, and a very likable protagonist in Miss Pym. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am excited to read more of Tey's work. Recommended!

The Franchise Affair tells the story of comfortable small-town lawyer Robert Blair, whose first forty years of life have been just as calmly unpredictable as his surroundings. He is unprepared for a desperate phone call he receives late one afternoon from a Marion Sharpe. She and her aged mother have been accused of a most unusual crime. A young girl by the name of Betty Kane claims that they abducted her, kept her prisoner for a month in their attic, and beat her mercilessly when she would not agree to be their servant. Marion and her mother are dumbfounded and claim to never have seen the girl, but Betty gives details about the house that are surprisingly accurate. Robert is drawn into the case and determines to find out what exactly young Betty Kane was doing the month she was missing.

I heartily enjoyed ths story and stayed up far past my bedtime to finish it. Tey writes with such certainty, and her characters are wonderful. Not a moment of the prose or dialogue feels stilted, and the reader is drawn in to the emotional realities of the story. I dreamt about it vividly that night, and thought about it a great deal afterwards. Tey's pacing is very deliberate and she unfolds the story slowly, but the writing is so good that you don't mind in the least. Fans of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers will love Josephine Tey. Highly, highly recommended.

Brat Farrar at first appears to be the usual impostor-pretending-to-be-the-missing-heir story, but soon becomes far more than that. Brat (a corruption of "Batholomew") Farrar was raised in an orphanage and lived a rough life out west in America before drifting back to England. His passion is horses, but it's next to impossible to get work in a horse barn in England. When a shady actor/con man mistakes him for the heir of the Ashby estate, the two work together to create a convincing story (though not without Brat's conscience giving him some trouble).

The original heir to the Ashby property, Patrick Ashby, committed suicide at age 13 after their parents were killed in a car accident. Patrick's body was never found but he left a note asking the family's forgiveness. Aunt Bee took charge of the family (Patrick's twin brother Edward and sisters Eleanor, Jane, and Ruth) and the farm until Edward would turn 21. The problem was, Brat showed up the week before the birthday as Patrick Ashby, claiming that he had merely run away. And a complicated family drama ensues. What really did happen to Patrick Ashby? And can Brat continue to squash his conscience and take an inheritance that was never his?

This is the weakest of the three mysteries in this volume, but it's still quite good. It's one of those stories that is so engaging that the actual plot seems rather obvious in hindsight, but you didn't think so at all while you were reading. The characters are, as usual with Tey, very well-drawn and you are pulled into their struggles. I very much enjoyed this story — recommended! show less

It's all about good, old-fashioned character building. These three novels are meant to be savored and enjoyed at leisure and their entire cast of characters move into your upstairs room for weeks on end.

"Three" by Josephine Tey contains: Brat Farrar, The Franchise Affair, and Miss Pym Disposes. In my opinion, Brat Farrar and The Franchise Affair are two of her best works, which makes this volume worth owning for anyone looking to buy their first Tey...

i don't know exactly why i liked this. it takes place in some kind of fantasy(totally unrealistic)sports school that she is visiting. i don't quite know how you visit a school for a week, but anyway the students love her. the murder takes place in about the last 20 pages and the murderess is never punished. just quite interesting.

Wonderful character exploration by Tey, a concise and lean writer.

Miss Pym Disposes--visitor to women's training school becomes involved in college life and makes incorrect deduction when a murder occurs. The Franchise Affair--a country town lawyer finds his life transformed when he defends two women accused of having kidnapped and abused a young woman. Brat Farrar--Brat is the double of dead Patrick, can he convince the family that he is the 'suicide' returned?