The Singing Sands

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Why should I mind Tommy knowing? There was nothing shameful about it. If he were a paralysed syphilitic he would accept Tommy’s help and sympathy. Why should he want to keep from Tommy’s knowledge the fact that he was sweating with terror because of something that didn’t exist?’ This is due to the shape and size of the sand granules (round and between 0.1 and .5 in diameter), level of humidity and the fact that the sand contains silica. also of course get to see deeper layers to Inspector Grant, different to those revealed in The Singing Sands. In this tale much is shown about Grant in his friendship with Marta. His thoughts frequently show […] The Daughter of Time influenced later mystery writers, notably Barbara Mertz. Mertz, writing as Elizabeth Peters, refers explicitly to Tey in The Murders of Richard III (1974) which sets a country house murder mystery among a group who believe that Richard III was innocent.

Her only non-fiction book, Claverhouse, was written as a vindication of John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, whom she regarded as a libeled hero: "It is strange that a man whose life was so simple in pattern and so forthright in spirit should have become a peg for every legend, bloody or brave, that belonged to his time."

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It’s worth remembering that The Singing Sands was found after Tey’s death. It seems likely that she wrote it when she was dying – and knew she was dying – of cancer of the liver, which would explain both its tone and the state of the plot. The Franchise Affair (1948) [Inspector Grant appears briefly at the beginning, mentioned a few times] ( filmed in 1950 starring Michael Denison and Dulcie Gray) In 1990, The Daughter of Time was selected by the British Crime Writers' Association as the greatest crime novel of all time; The Franchise Affair was 11th on the same list of 100 books. in the main I went onto stronger and more enjoyable novels such as The Daughter of Time (1951), The Singing Sands (1952) and A Shilling for Candles […]

Ewan, Elizabeth; etal., eds. (2006). The biographical dictionary of Scottish women: from the earliest times to 2004. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p.233. ISBN 9780748626601. I agree the central crime is probably not as strong as it should be, the focus in this story is not on the puzzle but Inspector Grant. But Tey’s writing style does make up for some of this. I have often wondered whether improved technology e.g. faster and easier ways of travelling have taken some of the romance or mystery out of travelling, which is present in GAD holiday novels. I have been on one sleeper train though in Ukraine, which was definitely an experience. Henderson, Jennifer Morag (2016). "War, and First Year at Anstey". Josephine Tey: a Life. Dingwall, Scotland: Sandstone Press Ltd. ISBN 9781910124710. Be prepared to wait if the parking lot is full. No problem. We understood it was 2:30 pm on the Sunday of the Labour Day Weekend.Proceeds from Tey's estate, including royalties from her books, were assigned to the National Trust. [9] Appearances and adaptations in other works [ edit ] From such an unpromising beginning Grant is gradually drawn into the mystery of who the man in compartment B Seven was and why he was on the train. The novel’s slow first half builds up a portrait of Grant’s psyche as he grapples with his demons and puzzles over the death while fishing and having his cousin try to set him up with a widowed but impoverished (those wretched death duties) aristocrat. Asking his sergeant in London about Martin does not help because it seems that the man’s family in Marseilles has positively identified the body from a photograph and the death has been ruled an accident by the coroner. Meanwhile as he ponders he fishes, during the course of which he meets a kilted Scotsman called Wee Archie. It appears on the face of it to have been an accident, the drunk man having fallen over and bashed his head on the basin. While accepting that it probably was an accident, Grant cannot help feeling that not all is as it seems – supposedly a French mechanic called Charles Martin, he wrote in fluent English with a script that seems English rather than French.

Singing Sands beach is located on the Oa peninsula, behind the Carraig Fhada Lighthouse. It’s a popular place for birdwatching, sunbathing or having a picnic while watching the boats sail into Port Ellen. Take off for the day to see the puffins on The Treshnish Isles, A Day trip to Mull, Skye, The Small Isles, The Most westerly point on the mainland and many more local ideas for a day out I also think Tey uses Inspector Grant’s character as a vehicle for discussing the English class system and on the issue of Scotland’s union with England, with Inspector Grant being in favour of it. To begin with the English class system, Inspector Grant dismantles a number of stereotypes an American character has about the upper class. For example Inspector Grant refutes the idea that all upper class people have ‘beaky noses… specifically provided for looking down,’ suggesting that this is more likely to be found in ‘the suburbs.’ Inspector Grant also asserts that ‘there never has been separate and distinct classes – or an aristocratic class,’ with people mixing from all levels. I’m not sure this argument is entirely convincing but it did make me wonder what Tey’s views were on class. Scottish Referendum Moving onto the union between Scotland and England, Inspector Grant describes it in positive terms saying that ‘Scotland stepped thankfully on to England’s bandwagon, and fell heir to all the benefits. Colonies, Shakespeare, soap, solvency and so forth.’ Again this is quite a reductionist argument in some respects, but once more it intrigued me as to Tey’s own views on the matter. Unsurprisingly, the representative of those seeking a separation between Scotland and England is depicted rather negatively: an Englishman playing at being Scottish, with suggestions of criminal activity. The section through the forest plantation is also lovely, with foxglove, devil’s bit scabious, wood sorrel, tormentil, primrose, purple moor grass, hard fern, shield ferns and bent grasses, to mention but a few, fringing the Sitka Spruce plantation with pine. In addition, some areas of the plantation are strewn with an abundance and diversity of bryophytes, including Spaghnum and Polytrichium spp, Dicranum spp, Common tamarisk moss ( Thuidium tamariscinium), Glittering wood moss ( Hylocomium splendens), rough stalked feather-moss ( Brachythecium rutabulum), as well as a range of a range of liverworts and lichens.

Terrain

Located on the eastern coast of Prince Edward Island, Singing Sands Beach is part of the larger Basin Head Provincial Park, just east of Souris. There’s a convenient parking lot and boardwalk leading to two beautiful sandy beaches divided by a water channel flowing from an inland pond. At times, the water can be fast-moving so children should be supervised. In 1989 Colin Dexter reprised the hospital-bound detective motif of Daughter of Time in his Inspector Morse novel The Wench is Dead, which was also made into an episode in the Morse television series. The beach and surrounding area was used for commando training during the Second World War and may contain unexploded munitions, so please take care. A battle associated with the 1745 uprising is also believed to have been fought here.