In a few weeks, Julie & Scott’s A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast will concern Josephine Tey’s mystery The Franchise Affair. I read through Tey’s entire oeuvre quite a few years ago now, and enjoyed them considerably; and they’ve been sitting on my shelf untouched ever since. And as it happens, The Franchise Affair is the first of Tey’s books that I read. And as it further happens, I’m home with a cold. All in all, this seemed a fortuitous time to renew the acquaintance. And when I opened the book, I ran headlong into this line on page 5, which reminded me why I was so enchanted with Tey to begin with. This is in a small English town, circa 1950:
…the scarlet and gold of an American bazaar flaunted its bright promise down at the south end, and daily offended Miss Truelove who ran the Elizabethan relic opposite as a teashop with the aid of her sister’s baking and Anne Boleyn’s reputation.
The View from the Foothills 
It’s always good to find another Tey reader – it’s also unfortunately rare. The Franchise Affair is probably on my “desert island books” list, though some days I lean toward Brat Farrar.
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I enjoyed The Franchise Affair more this time than when I first read it; but I remember really liking Brat Farrar, which was the last one of the set that I read. I’m looking forward to revisiting all of them.
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I just read Miss Pym Disposes and really enjoyed it, especially the jujitsu ending. The author essentially trashed the protagonist’s psychological abilities (Miss Pym disposes indeed!) very neatly. Can’t wait to read other books by Tey!
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