Josphine Tey's The Franchise Affair has made it onto film as well as the page
February saw the Tyneside Book Club tackle a detective novel - although one with an unusual plot.
Josephine Tey's The Franchise Affair is seen as a classic among mystery writers, and it certainly led to plenty of discussion among members.
Most were intrigued by what they read with a puzzle - the allegations of a young woman against a mother and daughter - that felt compelling from the start. Members enjoyed the traditional village setting and the period feel (it was written in the 1940s and is set shortly after the end of the war).
Members enjoyed the initial ambiguity about who was really the injured party, and who the perpetrator. Some did feel it lost a bit of power when it became obvious who the villain was, but for others there was still interest and entertainment to be had from discovering the exact sequence of events.
There was much discussion about what the book revealed about the author's attitude to class and gender. For some it appeared working class characters were vilified, but Tey also seemed to champion the outsider at times within the village. Some of her characters though did seem to have an odd inclination towards violent fantasies towards one of the protagonists. Men also seemed to get a free pass to behave badly, while women were given less leeway. There were nevertheless some strong and interesting female characters.
Members agreed this was an unusual and even slightly eccentric novel which certainly never bored the reader, even if for some it was more riveting than others.
Josephine Tey's The Franchise Affair is seen as a classic among mystery writers, and it certainly led to plenty of discussion among members.
Most were intrigued by what they read with a puzzle - the allegations of a young woman against a mother and daughter - that felt compelling from the start. Members enjoyed the traditional village setting and the period feel (it was written in the 1940s and is set shortly after the end of the war).
Members enjoyed the initial ambiguity about who was really the injured party, and who the perpetrator. Some did feel it lost a bit of power when it became obvious who the villain was, but for others there was still interest and entertainment to be had from discovering the exact sequence of events.
There was much discussion about what the book revealed about the author's attitude to class and gender. For some it appeared working class characters were vilified, but Tey also seemed to champion the outsider at times within the village. Some of her characters though did seem to have an odd inclination towards violent fantasies towards one of the protagonists. Men also seemed to get a free pass to behave badly, while women were given less leeway. There were nevertheless some strong and interesting female characters.
Members agreed this was an unusual and even slightly eccentric novel which certainly never bored the reader, even if for some it was more riveting than others.
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