The Gifts of Investigation Essay Example for Free

The Gifts of Investigation Essay Throughout history there have been various rumors that King Richard III murdered his two nephews known as the princes of the tower. When Detective Alan Grant received a portrait of Richard Plantagenet, his desire to solve the mystery was peaked. As Grant investigates the allegations against Plantagenet, an abundance of information was recovered. Alan Grant’s ability to make wise selections, view a variety of perspectives, and thoroughly analyze the information allowed him to solve the mystery. Alan Grant discovers and receives a plethora of information during his investigation. He begins his investigation by requesting information from everyone that he came in contact with about the princes of the tower and King Richard III. Grant was informed several times that the princes were smothered with a pillow. During his search, he receives information from several resources such as textbooks from the â€Å"Amazon† and historical accounts, he noticed many inconsistencies. For example, he learned that More was only five years when Richard III ascended to the throne and eight years old when Richard III died, therefore his historical account had to be hearsay information. However, Grant regarded information by Miss Ellis and evidence that was corroborated by several witnesses. As Grant reviewed the perspectives of his sources, he came to notice that the bias of the source deeply affected the information. Detective Alan Grant’s ability to determine which information was reliable and unreliable aided him in the process of solving this mystery. While Grant reviews his sources’ accounts, he was able to see through their eyes. In this novel, Alan Grant views the perspectives of Cicely Neville, Richard III, and King Henry VII. As Grant reads the account of Cicely, he learns more about Richard’s personality. The detective learned that â€Å"In Richard’s hero-worshipping eyes, everything Edward did had always been right† (60) and Richard deeply cherished his brother. As Carradine and Grant read King Richard III’s letter, it became apparent that Richard’s â€Å"instinct to see a friend happy was apparently greater than his instinct for revenge† (129). They also discovered that Richard was personally bound by his loyalty (97). Grant’s view of his sources’ perspectives allowed him to gain more  information about Richard’s personality and behavior. In the beginning of the Daughter of Time, Detective Grant receives a portrait of King Richard III. As he analyzed the portrait, he believed that Richard dealt with deep sorrow and lacked suppressed hatred. With Grant’s new found discovery, he disregards information that said that greed and jealousy hardened Richard III’s heart. With that being said, Alan Grant began looking at suspects who had much to gain by the death of the princes. Henry VII brought a bill of attainder before Parliament which accused King Richard III of tyranny and cruelty but failed to mention the murder thereby leading Grant to believe that the princes were not dead at that point in time. As Grant and Carradine thoroughly researched King Henry VII’s actions during his reign, many peculiarities were recovered. Within eighteen months of Henry’s ascension to the throne, he sent his wife, Elizabeth to a convent and attempted to repeal the Titulus Regius which made Elizabeth a legitimate prospect as Edward IV’s daughter and heir apparent. Grant and Carradine began following Henry’s trail of destruction and noticed that Tyrrel received a castle for services rendered and given two pardons within one month. This made Tyrrel a prime suspect of the murder of the princes ordered by Henry VII. As Grant and Carradine continued to analyze the collected information, the facts and events began to fall in place. Alan Grant possessed a unique ability to disregard unreliable information and to thoroughly analyze data led him to accurately deduce the culprit’s identity. By studying the characteristics of King Richard III through other’s perspectives, Grant was able to eliminated Richard as a suspect because of his lack of motive. However, Grant noticed the peculiar actions of King Henry VII during his reign that him to discover that Tyrrell was ordered to murder the princes by Henry. A thorough analysis of the information collected and the bias of the historical accounts were the key this successful investigation. Works Cited Tey, Josephine. The Daughter of Time. New York City: Simon Schuster New York, 1995. Print.