From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Miss Pym Disposes

Josephine Tey

Start date: July 1, 2019

Finish date: July 31, 2019

Discussion: Group reads

Why we're reading this: This was a very close runner-up in our June poll, so we decided to read it in July.
[close] This was a very close runner-up in our June poll, so we decided to read it in July.

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What Members Thought

Oct 14, 2010 Tracey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1901-1950, mystery, school

By this point in my reread of Josephine Tey it's more than clear that she did not write ordinary books. The cover blurb clearly gives out that Disposes is a murder mystery, but the story is in no rush to do anyone in. And that is brilliant, and cruel. We are introduced to Miss Pym, and become friends. It didn't take long at all to come to care about her – still surprised and honestly delighted at her completely unanticipated fame and relative fortune, at her still-new ability to go wherever and By this point in my reread of Josephine Tey it's more than clear that she did not write ordinary books. The cover blurb clearly gives out that Disposes is a murder mystery, but the story is in no rush to do anyone in. And that is brilliant, and cruel. We are introduced to Miss Pym, and become friends. It didn't take long at all to come to care about her – still surprised and honestly delighted at her completely unanticipated fame and relative fortune, at her still-new ability to go wherever and do whatever she pleases. There are times and circumstances in which it is almost as nice (almost) to see good things happen to good people as to have them to oneself; it's lovely to watch Miss Pym as written by Josephine Tey exploring the sort of freedom I'd wish for my own life – and which, come to think of it, may have been a glimpse into Miss Tey's own feelings; there is, apparently, much of Josephine Tey (pseudonym of Elizabeth Mackintosh) in Miss Pym and the girls and ladies of the school: Elizabeth Mackintosh was, according to the Times obituary (via http://www.josephinetey.net/) "born and brought up at Inverness and was trained as a physical training instructress at the Anstey Physical Training College, Birmingham".

Along with Miss Pym we meet the inmates of the Leys school for young women, and seeing through her eyes there are perhaps two students who are less than lovely, and one instructor; everyone else is charming, and indispensable. Which is when the memory that this is a murder mystery begins to niggle … Which of these will be the victim? Worse – which will be the killer? For once there is no hint in the blurb (at least in my edition); the hideous cover of my copy makes it look like a student, but covers are notoriously unreliable. It's a different sort of suspense than is often found in the genre – rather than being kept waiting to find out whodunnit or whether this one will escape the murderer or that one escape the law, here it is a wait to see which of these people I've quickly come to like will a) die and b) be responsible. Neither is a more appealing prospect than the other; it didn't take long before I really didn't want any of them dead, nor did I want any of them to be capable of killing anyone. It is sadly rare to read a book in which the characters are so well-made that their plotline becomes genuinely distressing.

Not a negligible accomplishment for the first hundred pages. Tey is amazing.

I maunder on a bit more on my blog. ...more

37 likes · Like · see review

Jun 03, 2015 Teri-K rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-mystery, senior-citizen-mcs, mystery-golden-age

Those wanting a traditional mystery will be disappointed with this book, which is less about the mystery than Miss Pym. Fortunately I find Miss Pym fascinating. An ordinary woman who became famous by writing a scathing critique of current psychological mumbo-jumbo which was only discovered by accident, when we meet her she has somehow become convinced that makes her an expert in psychology. I suspect she would have scoffed at this idea when she was unknown, but once discovered she seems to have ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 12, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-fiction-uk, crime-fiction, classic-mystery-fiction

don't worry! No spoilers, just a small synopsis ahead.

Miss Pym Disposes, by Josephine Tey, is one of those books that sneak up on you at the end, and sort of catch you unprepared for the ending. It is a very good book, and Josephine Tey has never let me down.

The basic plot is this (I can't say too much or it will wreck it for anyone who may want to read this book): Set in England, at a woman's college that specializes in physical training, Miss Lucy Pym, a specialist in Psychology, has come to b ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 26, 2022 Bronwyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: about-women, do-not-own, 2022-reads, author-s-z, by-women, mystery-detective-suspense, novels, ebook, european, title-j-r

This was such a treat. Why isn’t Josephine Tey better known?! It was perfect - started out like one of the mid-century women’s books I like and turned into a really well done mystery. The mystery is so late in the book I just didn’t see how it would all happen and be resolved so quick! The long set up is so perfect as you really get to know the characters much better than you might in a whodunnit that happens much earlier on. I loved it. I was already interested in other Teys but now I’m really ...more

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Nov 24, 2010 Becky rated it liked it

Shelves: 2014reviews

Miss Lucy Pym is visiting an 'old friend' who is now a principal at a physical training college. The occasion for her visit is her successful bestselling status as an author of a popular psychology book. Her book is the new "it" book of the moment, Miss Pym gives guest lectures. The students of this college, particularly the juniors and seniors, take a real liking to her. They beg and plead and urge her to stay. So she postpones leaving. (I'm not sure her old college friend is as enthusiastic ab ...more

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Jun 15, 2023 Laura Anne rated it really liked it

Shelves: british-isles, crime, fiction

Sharp dialogue, interesting characters & an excellent start but there was an uphill struggle wondering who (if anyone) was going to be bumped off in this “murder mystery.” But by the end I was left wanting more. What happened to everyone afterwards?

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Oct 29, 2023 Laurie rated it liked it

This book is positioned as a murder mystery but it’s not really one. It’s better if you think of it as a psychological drama in which a crime (eventually) takes place. It’s interesting and well-written, though not my favorite Josephine Tey book (that’s The Franchise Affair). Her problematic and silly obsession with physiognomy rears its head here as it does in some of her other books. There’s a lot that happens in this book that doesn’t make emotional sense to my 2023 American sensibilities but ...more

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