The Woman Who Knew Too Much: The Crime Fiction of Josephine Tey



Overview

Josephine Tey (1865-1952) was a woman who knew too much; about history, identity, and the stories we choose to believe. This immersive course explores her literary craft to reveal a writer whose subtle, character-driven mysteries reshaped 20th-century crime fiction. A contemporary of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, Tey lived several creative lives as a novelist, playwright, and quiet revolutionary of the crime genre.

Born Elizabeth Mackintosh in Inverness, Tey's best-known works, The Franchise Affair, Brat Farrar, and The Daughter of Time blend wit, psychology, and historical investigation, challenging the very nature of truth and justice with many of them being adapted for film, radio, and television, inspiring directors such as Alfred Hitchcock as well as generations of later writers. 

Join us to explore Tey’s works in the context of her extraordinary life and times, examining how her subtle intelligence reshaped the detective story. Through lively discussion, contextual study, and short creative exercises, we invite you to uncover why Tey’s mysteries continue to captivate readers, how her work reshaped the crime genre, and why she remains one of Britain’s most intriguing and influential crime writers.

Led by Tey’s biographer, this course offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with her writing, her influence, and her enduring mystery.

This course is part of the Inspiring Oxford summer school programme, held at Brasenose College.

Programme details

Daily schedule

After registration on Sunday afternoon, we invite you to a welcome meeting in the Amersi Lecture Theatre in New Quad, where you will meet your tutors. Join us in Deer Park afterwards for our opening drinks reception, followed by dinner in Brasenose’s historic dining hall (informal dress).

Seminars take place on weekday mornings. Most afternoons are free, allowing you time to explore Oxford, enjoy a variety of optional social events (see details below), or to sit back and relax in one of the college's atmospheric quads.

Your course culminates on Friday evening with a closing drinks reception and gala farewell dinner at which Certificates of Attendance are awarded. For this special occasion smart dress is encouraged (no requirement to wear dinner suits or gowns).

Social programme 

We warmly invite all Inspiring Oxford students to take part in our optional social programme, with all events provided at no additional cost. Events are likely to include:

  • Croquet on the quad
  • Chauffeured punting from Magdalen Bridge
  • Expert-led walking tours of Oxford
  • Optional visit to an Oxford Library or the Ashmolean Museum
  • River Thames afternoon cruise
  • Quiz night in the college bar
  • Scottish country dance evening (where you do the dancing!)

Seminars

Monday

Beginnings: Tey in Context

An introduction to Josephine Tey’s life, work, and multiple identities. We begin by looking at the novel The Man in the Queue and her early theatrical and journalistic writing, exploring how she emerged from the cultural energy of the 1920s.

Activity: Short creative writing exercise inspired by Tey’s newspaper competition entries.

Tuesday

Identity and Disguise

Through Brat Farrar, we examine and discuss themes of identity, deception, and belonging, mirroring Tey’s own layered sense of self. Discussion will consider her Inverness roots, family background and working life.

Wednesday

Film and Radio Adaptations of Tey’s Works

Focusing on The Franchise Affair, we look at how Tey’s work moves between page, stage, and screen. We consider the novel’s historical background, its contemporary settings, and modern readings. We’ll explore film and radio versions of her stories, and consider adaptations of her novels including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1937 adaptation of Tey’s A Shilling for Candles (1936), released as Young and Innocent in the UK and as The Girl was Young in the USA.

Thursday

The Daughter of Time: Plot, Narrative and History

Tey’s masterpiece, The Daughter of Time (1951) was the author’s final novel published in her lifetime. Blending detective fiction and historical revisionism, the story centres on a modern-day police officer re-examining the alleged offences of the last king of the Plantagenets, Richard III of England (1452 – 1485). In 1990, the British Crime Writers’ Association placed Tey’s novel at number one in their Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time list.

Today, we consider The Daughter of Time in overview by examining its plot, narrative and history before reviewing its critical reception.

Activity: Short written exercise and discussion on historical and biographical writing.

Friday

Tey’s Legacy

The fictional setting of the Scottish Isle of Cladda for Tey’s posthumously-published (1952) The Singing Sands was distinctive for its transformation of detective fiction into a meditation on the human mind, healing, and perception, rather than merely a tale of crime and punishment. Today, we discuss Tey’s exploration of Scottish identity and of Scotland’s place in the literary world in her final novel.

We conclude by reflecting on Tey’s legacy as a woman writer, a Scottish voice, and an innovator in crime fiction.

Activity: Final creative piece inspired by Tey’s journalistic writing.

Certification

Certificate of Attendance

At the end of the course you will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

Digital badge

You will also be issued with an official digital badge of attendance. After the course, you will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to download this. You will be able to share this on social media and add to your email signature if you wish to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Fee option 1 (single en suite accom and meals per person) £2625.00
Fee option 2 (single standard accom and meals per person) £2275.00
Fee option 3 (twin en suite accom and meals per person) £2435.00
Fee option 4 (no accom; incl lunch and dinner per person) £1855.00

Funding

Please note there are no sources of funding (scholarships, bursaries, etc) available for the Inspiring Oxford Summer School programme.

Payment

All fees are charged on a per week, per person basis

Included in the course fee:

  • Any included excursions (see programme details above) and the full optional social programme.
  • Breakfasts Monday-Saturday (residential guests only), five weekday lunches, and dinners Sunday-Friday. If your course includes a full-day field trip, a packed lunch is normally provided.
  • Morning refreshments and the welcome and closing drinks receptions.

Participants attending multiple weeks

Residential participants staying at Brasenose College for consecutive weeks may arrange an additional Saturday night bed-and-breakfast between courses, available for an additional fee. Please  email inspiringoxford@conted.ox.ac.uk to arrange this.

Payment terms

  • If enrolling online: full payment by credit/debit card at the time of booking.
  • If submitting an enrolment form: full payment online by credit/debit card or via bank transfer within 30 days of invoice date.

Please be aware that all payments (and refunds) made via non-UK credit/debit cards and bank accounts are subject to the exchange rate on the day they are processed.

Course change administration fee

Please note that course transfers may be permitted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Programme Administrator, up to 1 May 2026; however, in accordance with our terms and conditions for our open access courses, an administration fee of £50 will be charged.​

Cancellations and refunds

Please see the terms and conditions for our open-access courses.

The Department cannot be held responsible for any costs you may incur in relation to travel or accommodation bookings as a result of a course cancellation, or if you are unable to attend the course for any other reason. You are advised to check the terms and conditions carefully and to purchase travel insurance.

Tutor

Jennifer Henderson

Jennifer Morag Henderson is a writer from the Scottish Highlands. Her main interest is in history and biography. Her first book Josephine Tey: A Life is a biography of the Golden Age crime writer, and was a ‘Book of the Year’ in the Observer, Independent and Telegraph, and acclaimed by reviewers in the Wall Street Journal, TLS, Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her second book Daughters of the North: Jean Gordon and Mary, Queen of Scots was longlisted for the prestigious Highland Book Prize. Her newest book, the biography in poetry Jofrid Gunn, was published in 2025. Jennifer's poetry, short stories and articles have been widely published in magazines and anthologies, including by the BBC, in national newspapers, and in academic publications. Recent research on the French Revolution was written and published in French. Jennifer is an experienced lecturer, and has given talks at the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, and at many book festivals including Wigtown and Bloody Scotland. She also gives talks and workshops for smaller writing/reading groups, including at the writing centre Moniack Mhor, in libraries, and in schools.

Jennifer has degrees from the University of Glasgow and Dalhousie University (Canada), and studied French at l’Institut Français d’Écosse and at the Université de Caen. Prior to writing full-time, she worked in several different areas of the book trade, including bookselling, libraries and publishing.

Teaching methods

Participants will be taught in seminar groups of up to 16 people.

Teaching methods used during this course may include:

  • Short lectures/presentations
  • Physical handouts
  • Seminars/group discussions
  • Short in-class exercises

Application

Registration closes on 29 May 2026 at 2pm BST (UK time).

If your preferred course is fully booked, you may wish to add yourself to the waiting list and the Programme Administrator will contact you should a place become available.

Online enrolment (single person accommodation and non-residential)

Single person accommodation and non-residential places should be booked online by clicking on the 'Book now' button at the top of this page. Please do not complete an enrolment form for these. 

If you have any trouble booking online, please contact the Programme Administrator by emailing inspiringoxford@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Online enrolments require payment in full at the time of registering.

Single bedroom options:

  • Single en suite: private bathroom facilities (shower, washbasin and toilet).
  • Standard single: private bedroom with shared bathroom facilities (typically shared among four participants).

Enrolment form (multi-occupancy or accessible accommodation)

Twin bedrooms

Those requiring a twin en-suite room (for two people) should complete an enrolment form as these rooms cannot be booked or requested online. Please note these rooms have limited availability. 

If requesting a twin room, each person should complete an enrolment form and name the other person who they wish to share a room with. 

Ground/lower floor accommodation

Brasenose rooms do not have lift access, and the higher rooms can be located up a few flights of stairs. If you need a room on a ground or lower floor please complete an enrolment form and indicate your requirements, or contact the Programme Administrator directly at inspiringoxford@conted.ox.ac.uk as soon as possible. 

Enrolment form

The enrolment form is an editable PDF and can be completed electronically, so you should not need to print and scan it. 

Completed forms should be sent:

  • by email to inspiringoxford@conted.ox.ac.uk, or

  • by post to Inspiring Oxford, Oxford Lifelong Learning, University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education, 1 Wellington Square, OXFORD, OX1 2JA, UK.

Level and demands

The Inspiring Oxford programme is aimed at non-specialists: no prior knowledge is required, and classes are pitched at an introductory level. Courses are designed for an international audience aged 18 and over.

There are no assessments for this course.

Accommodation

Residential options are outlined below.

Please see the 'application' section above for guidance on how to book or request the right accommodation for you, including how to request a lower/ground floor room.

The course fee includes breakfasts Monday-Saturday (residential guests only), five weekday lunches, and dinners Sunday-Friday. All meals included are served in Brasenose College's dining hall. If your course includes a full-day field trip, a packed lunch is normally provided.

Accommodation options at Brasenose

During your course, for an authentic Oxford University experience you can stay in typical student accommodation at Brasenose College, in the heart of the city in buildings overlooked by the iconic Radcliffe Camera. 

Please note that bedrooms are student rooms. They are simply and modestly-furnished and do not have air-conditioning. You can find out more about Brasenose and its facilities by visiting their website.

The following types of accommodation are available. 

  • Single en suite: private bathroom facilities (shower, washbasin and toilet).
  • Twin en suite: shared between participants that apply to the programme together, with private bathroom facilities.
  • Standard single: private bedroom with shared bathroom facilities (typically shared among four participants).

Non-residential option

Prefer not to stay on site? We also offer places on a non-residential basis whereby participants can take classes and have lunch and dinner at Brasenose College, having arranged their own accommodation elsewhere. Breakfast is not included.

Non-residential participants are warmly encouraged to take part in every aspect of the academic and social programme and enjoy the same access to Brasenose facilities as residential participants.

Participants attending multiple weeks

We welcome students who want to attend multiple Inspiring Oxford courses. Residential participants staying at Brasenose College for consecutive weeks may arrange an additional Saturday night bed-and-breakfast between courses, available for an additional fee. This option ensures a seamless and enjoyable stay in Oxford.

Accommodation before/after your course

We are unable to arrange accommodation at Brasenose College prior to or following your course. Please visit universityrooms.com if you require additional nights of bed and breakfast accommodation, and they may be able to assist.

Additionally, family or friends who are not enrolled in the programme cannot be accommodated in college. 

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support