🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Josephine Tey
Josephine Tey was the pen name of author Elizabeth Mackintosh, who used to write her novels under this pseudonym. She was famous for writing mystery novels during the time of World War I. She used to adopt another pseudonym of Gordon Daviot for writing interesting mystery novels. The name Josphine Tey is coined by the names of her mother Josephine and an English grandmother’s surname. Tey was born in the year 1896 in Inverness, Scotland, UK. She has written around six novels based on mystery and thriller genres most of which revolve around the life of the fictional character Alan Grant who is an Inspector in the Scotland Yard. Tey was the daughter of Josephine and Colin Mackintosh. She attended the Inverness Royal Academy and later the Ansten Physical Training College in Birmingham.
All Book Series by Josephine Tey
The Man in the Queue / Killer in the Crowd
Series opener · book 1 of 6 · published 1929
The Privateer
Latest in the series · book 5 of 5 · published 1952 Pen name · Gordon Daviot
The Laughing Woman
Series opener · book 1 of 7 · published 1934 Pen name · Gordon Daviot
Leith Sands and Other Short Plays
Book 3 of 7 · published 1946 Pen name · Gordon Daviot
Dickon
Book 6 of 7 · published 1966 Pen name · Gordon Daviot, With: Elizabeth Mackintosh
The Pen of My Aunt
Latest in the series · book 7 of 7 · published 1981 Pen name · Gordon Daviot
The Edinburgh Mystery: And Other Tales of Scottish Crime
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 2023
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Josephine Tey?
Josephine Tey was the pen name of author Elizabeth Mackintosh, who used to write her novels under this pseudonym. She was famous for writing mystery novels during the time of World War I. She used to adopt another pseudonym of Gordon Daviot for writing interesting mystery novels.
Which Josephine Tey series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Inspector Alan Grant series, the earliest of Josephine Tey's multi-book series: it opens with The Man in the Queue / Killer in the Crowd (1929) and runs to 6 books across 1929–1952, ending with The Singing Sands (1952). Josephine Tey's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Josephine Tey written?
Josephine Tey has 28 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1929 and 2025. 13 of them belong to 2 named series — the largest being the Gordon Daviot Plays series with 7 books — and 15 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Josephine Tey's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Josephine Tey's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Inspector Alan Grant (1929–1952, 6 books) and Gordon Daviot Plays (1934–1981, 7 books).
How are Josephine Tey's books organised into series?
This guide splits Josephine Tey's 28 books into 2 named series and 15 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Gordon Daviot Plays (7 books, 1934–1981); Inspector Alan Grant (6 books, 1929–1952).