The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

I believe I've found yet another author where I feel I 'must read all her books' now that I've read one.  Several of you had recommended her to me and you were right, she's extremely talented and had me completely caught up in the drama of The Franchise Affair.  I'm not sure if this one novel is representative of all Josephine Tey's work, but I'm happily willing to find out.  I understand Inspector Grant is her sleuth, yet he takes a back seat to the events that unravel in the small country town of Milford.  Instead it's a local solicitor, Robert Blair, who's determined to prove the innocence of his clients who solves the case.   

Curiously I've come at Josephine Tey and Inspector Grant in a somewhat backwards manner.  I recently read Nicola Upson's An Expert in Murder, where Upson created a fictionalized Josephine Tey getting caught up in the murder of a young woman she met on a train journey.  Upson's Inspector Archie Penrose was modelled on Tey's Alan Grant, though I've yet to get a good sense of him.  The other impetus for picking up The Franchise Affair, aside from just wanting a good solid mystery to read, is Sarah Waters's The Little Stranger, which I understand was inspired in part by Tey's novel.  I loved The Little Straner and I can see bits and pieces of characterization and atmoshere and certainly attitude coming through in Waters's writing now that I've read about the strange circumstances regarding the Franchise affair.

The Franchise is a flat, unattractive, white house enclosed by a high wall of solid brick with a large double gate plopped down in the middle of a field.  "The place was as irrelevant, as isolated, as a child's toy dropped by the wayside."  The purported crime committed at the Franchise is a rather unconventional one.  There's no body in the library, but there is a young woman, almost still a schoolgirl really, who claims the two women living at the Franchise kidnapped her and held her there in the attic for nearly a month.  Their motivation was a desire for her to become their maidservant and when she resisted they beat her and held back food.  When one night she discovered the door unlocked she escaped to the main road and made her way home wearing nothing but a slip and covered in bruises.

The victim, or the accuser, depending on how you look at it is one Betty Kane.  Having just left school she was visiting relatives, enjoying her first taste of independence by traveling daily into town to window shop, have lunch and go to the pictures.  She had missed her bus one day and accepted a ride and ended up at the Franchise, she states.  The thing is, she can describe the women, the house, and particularly the attic so perfectly that the police are persuaded to believe her (enter Inspector Grant from Scotland Yard).  And Betty Kane looks reliable, not one to tell lies.  Fifteen, just going on sixteen Betty's a quiet girl, bland and ordinary looking --"not at all the type to be the heroine of a sensation."

The Sharps deny any knowledge of Betty Kane or how she might have ended up bruised and half clothed.  Once wealthy they are now living a shabby existence by themselves at the Franchise.  Mrs. Sharp is a formidable woman, no longer prosperous but still entirely dignified.  Her daughter Marion, a spinster, is contented to live a quiet life in the country making do on their own.  They call in Robert Blair, a gentleman who's "like themselves" to be present when the Yard brings Betty to verify her claims.  Outraged by the preposterousness of the situation Blair becomes enmeshed in the ordeal unwilling to let go until the Sharps have not only been proven innocent but vindicated as well.  He's not aided by a press taking up Betty Kane's cause and villifying the Sharps, as Milford becomes increasingly hostile and violent towards the Franchise and its inhabitants.  

Aside from being an excellent mystery that was hard to set down, I was fascinated by the many implications of the accusation--who made it and against whom and what the reaction of Milford was.  The novel was written shortly after WWII when the country was amidst so much social turmoil and it seems reflected in Tey's writing.  It's interesting to note the attitudes of the different classes towards each other.  There was a certain amount of vitriol exhibited between the "upper class" and their "lowers" (Betty Kane in particular) which I was surprised by but didn't necessarily question since I considered it part of the era when it was written.  I've come across an excellent article by Sarah Waters in which she "deconstructs" The Franchise Affair and talks about her response to it and and its influence on her writing.  I highly recommend it if you've read The Franchise Affair (she does give away plot so be aware if you've not read it yet).  

The Franchise Affair is a clever story, which is based on an actual court case from the eighteenth-century.  It's well plotted and smoothly written with nicely rounded characters, all in all a totally satisfying read.  Too bad Tey wrote only a small handful of mysteries, but I'll be keeping my eye out for them now.                    

Comments

[FleurFisher]

I am coming to The Franchise Affair from just the same route - just as soon as I read a few Persephones and catch up with my library books!

[Matthew]

Josphine Tey is the name that has repeatedly popped up in my e-mails and recommendations. I think I'll be on a binge of her works!

[cathy]

I just picked up The Franchise Affair from the library today! I will read the Sarah Waters article after the mystery, I think. Very good review, Danielle.

[Val]

Gosh, I'm jealous to just discover an author and still have all their books to look forward to for the first time!
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/t/josephine-tey/
I love the Grant novels, then there are, Brat Farrar and
Miss Pym Disposes How lovely!

[Danielle]

FleurFisher--You'll have to tell me what you think as well! Definitely squeeze it in!
Matthew--I can recommend this one and Brat Farrar, which I'd like to reread. Many people have told me The Daughter of Time is excellent, too.
Cathy--Have fun reading it--it's pretty quick going. And definitely wait to read Sarah Waters' article as she does give away the plot--well worth reading afterwords, though!
Val--I am looking forward to reading more of her workds. I did read Brat Farrar some time ago, but it's been sufficiently long ago that I have forgotten most of the details. I will be on the look out for the rest of her books, though I do have The Daughter of Time on my shelves. I do love discovering a new author!

[Marg]

The only Tey I have read is Daughter of Time and I really, really liked it. Based on your recommendation I have borrowed the first Upson novel. Looks like I will have to do the same for this one.

[Bride of the Book God]

I think I'm going to have to give the Franchise Affair another attempt after this review!

[Cornflower]

So glad you liked it, Danielle. I want to read more of her, too, having only read TFA and Daughter of Time so far.

[litlove]

I loved this when I read it, oh years and years ago. But I have to say that the Teys I read more recently weren't as good as this. The Man in the Queue had a bit of a lame ending. But her writing is always good (and again, it's that era thing that always works for me!).

[Kristen M.]

I am going to re-read all of the Tey books this fall and winter. I really wish she had written more though!

[Darlene]

My husband is thoroughly enjoying this book. I asked him if he would like to read your review and he said that he will after he's finished. Sort of a hands-over-ears la-la-la moment:) I also told him not to say anything else about the book to me as I'll read it later in the Fall. p.s. - he sees The Little Stranger in there.

[Danielle]

Marg--Enjoyed the Upson and loved the Tey. It was interesting reading them close together and seeing how Upson's style was influenced by Tey! I must read Daughter of Time now, too.
Bride of the Book God--Have you already tried it once? Maybe it was a timing thing. Once the story starts rolling I felt like I couldn't put it down. In some ways very much of its time, but I'm intrigued by that period and want to read more!
Cornflower--My other Tey read was Brat Farrar, which I would like to reread now--it's about doppelgangers.
Litlove--This was especially good wasn't it? It seems I read that she really excelled in stories with unconventional plots--maybe the others were humdrum? I love this period to, so I'm sure I'll give more of her work a try.
Kristen--It is too bad she didn't write more novels. I'm lucky since I have them all to look forward to reading.
Darlene--I don't like reading anything about a book before or while I'm reading, too! I highly recommend the Sarah Waters link for when you and he finish the book--she does an excellent job talking about it alone and in reference to her The Little Stranger. I could detect aspects of the Tey in Waters' writing, too. I'm glad I read the two close together. It's a quickie read, too!

[Table Talk]

You already know of my love of Tey's work and if I wasn't so snowed under with other reading your review would make me go back and re-read them, they gave me so much pleasure the first time round. I'm interested, though in what you say about 'The Little Stranger'. I find Waters almost unreadable and haven't even tried the last two. Maybe this might be my way into her work.

[Dorothy W.]

I'm very glad to hear she's so good! How interesting to learn about the connection with The Little Stranger. How fun to see connections between the two books!

[Danielle]

Table Talk--Check out that article I linked to--it might give you an idea of what Sarah Waters did in her last book. I think The Little Stranger is very different than her other work, so if you've not tried it maybe it would be worth looking at in the library? I've really enjoyed the books by her I've read and plan on reading The Night Watch soon. And Tey is just great. I can't wait to read more of her work, though I wouldn't mind first rereading Brat Farrar!
Dorothy--Your book group might like her. Didn't you say you have Miss Pym Disposes? Litlove recommended that one to me as one of her better novels. And it was interesting to see how the Tey book inspired Waters's most recent novel.