A blue plaque honouring a celebrated Invernessian crime writer will soon be placed on the site of her family’s old shop in Castle Street.
Josephine Tey, a pseudonym used by Elizabeth MacKintosh (1896-1952) is best remembered for her eight crime novels which are noted as the best of the ‘Golden Age’ of crime fiction, over and above those of Agatha Christie.
Her book The Daughter of Time, which features a unique mystery based around Richard III, was voted the best crime novel of all time by the Crime Writers’ Association.
Fellow Inverness author Jennifer Morag Henderson, who has written a biography of Tey, has been leading a campaign with Inverness City Heritage Trust for a blue plaque to recognise Elizabeth MacKinnon’s outstanding contribution to Scottish literature.
All of MacKintosh’s work was written in her hometown of Inverness, where she also wrote a number of other successful novels across a range of genres under more than one name – including as novelist and playwright ‘Gordon Daviot’ in the 1930s.
Her books have been adapted for radio, television and film – most notably by Alfred Hitchcock, who based his 1937 film, Young and Innocent, on Tey’s novel, ‘A Shilling For Candles’.
Jennifer gathered support for her blue plaque campaign from across the globe, including fans in the US, Australia and Europe.
She said: “I believe a celebration of Tey’s life and work in her hometown is well deserved, with her works being translated into numerous different languages and still available to buy in print almost a century on from first publication.
“She is a wonderful writer whose books have brought many hours of enjoyment to readers which is reflected in the critical, popular and lasting acclaim they have received.
“After months of campaigning for the installation of the blue plaque, it is incredibly exciting to help Tey’s legacy live on in the city.”
Fans and book bloggers all agree the plaque is long overdue.
Soundings about the idea of a plaque on Facebook attracted upwards of 700-800 individual ‘likes’ and comments on each post in groups such as The Association for Scottish Literary Studies, Scottish Women Writers, the Press & Journal Facebook page, the Richard III Society page, and Inverness When You Were A Kid.
Tey fan Cathy wrote: “Absolutely! She was such a wonderful writer and is not as well known in Inverness as she should be. This would raise her profile as well as acknowledging her talent.”
Norman Newton, a retired reference librarian, local history writer and researcher said: “There are excellent descriptions of Inverness (thinly disguised) and of Highland landscapes in her writings, particularly in The Singing Sands.
“Her writing is unsurpassed and always a pleasure to read.”
The site of the old Tey shop, where the plaque will be placed, is being rebuilt by Highland Housing Association (HHA) to provided eight much-needed homes for the city as well as a commercial unit.
Alison Tanner, project manager at Inverness City Heritage Trust, said: “It has been great to work alongside Jennifer with the support of HHA to celebrate a fantastic writer at an iconic and historic building, that will soon help breathe new life into the city centre.”
The HHA development is due to be finished by the end of this summer.
Other writers with blue plaques in the city include William Topaz McGonagall, Neil Gunn and Robert Burns.
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