Maisie Dobbs

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Mystery / Historical / Winspear, Jacqueline	4-week checkout	On Hold Shelf

Maisie Dobbs got her start as a maid in an aristocratic London household when she was thirteen. Her employer, suffragette Lady Rowan Compton, soon became her patron, taking the remarkably bright youngster under her wing. Lady Rowan's friend, Maurice Blanche, often retained as an investigator by the European elite, recognized Maisie's intuitive gifts and helped her earn admission to the prestigious Girton College in Cambridge, where Maisie planned to complete her education. The outbreak of war changed everything. Maisie trained as a nurse, then left for France to serve at the Front, where she found -- and lost -- an important part of herself. Ten years after the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie sets out on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive. Her very first case involves suspected infidelity but reveals something very different. In the aftermath of the Great War, a former officer has founded a working farm known as The Retreat, that acts as a convalescent refuge for ex-soldiers too shattered to resume normal life. When Fate brings Maisie a second case involving The Retreat, she must finally confront the ghost that has haunted her for over a decade...

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A Wonderful New Series for Mystery Lovers submitted by jldetlefs on November 16, 2007, 8:14am This is right up there with Andrew McCall's "No. 1 Ladies" Detective Agency" and Nevada Barr or Sue Grafton - excellent women detectives who bring a lot about their environment, or history, and their feelings to the novel. THe context is almost as much fun to learn about as the "who-dunnit". "Maisie Dobbs" - is a wonderful character and Jacqueline Winspear has a way with words that brings the character's thoughts and quirkiness to the book. The plot is excellent and plus the rich historical setting make for an excellent read. Maisie was a young nurse in WWI and is now in London during the 20-s and the novels continue to the 30's with hints of WWII coming. Maisie was a girl who had to leave her home at 13 to work as a maid for a rich family but was mentored because of her intelligence. Her background is rich with detail and the author very nicely mixes present and past history to paint a full character. Maisie now has her own agency - "M. Dobbs, Investigator and Psychologist". Billy Beale, a wounded Cockney soldier from WWI (with wife and children and the plight of poverty surrounding the returning veterans) is her secretary and there are other characters for a bit of romance. I have read the whole series (4 books) and look forward to more.

interesting societal commentary submitted by camelsamba on July 7, 2013, 1:38pm There are two unique elements in the Maisie Dobbs series. One is how the author captures much of the emotional trauma experienced by the soldiers (and nurses) during the war and as they try to re-integrate into British society. Another is the portrayal of societal changes that occurred in the time between wars - class boundaries, women's roles. Add that to interesting characters and plots, and the result is a compelling mystery series!

Maisie submitted by hcf on August 30, 2014, 4:26pm Good mystery story

1920s Historical Mystery submitted by Library Lindsay on June 17, 2016, 1:24pm Maisie Dobbs is a quietly confident budding detective, though she spends some time thinking of what to call herself and her business. The novel immediately evokes a strong sense of place in 1920s Britain through setting and dialect. As a protagonist, Dobbs comes across as courageous and introspective. In fact, the strong ties between her own history and the investigation at play make this a more character-driven mystery than most.

What seems like a straightforward setup for a detective tale blooms to include Dobbs' teenage years, service in WWI, and current sleuthing. Though the story does jump back to before the war, the plot is nonlinear and alternates a few times between "past" and "present."

First in a New Mystery submitted by foxkm on July 30, 2020, 6:42am This novel is wonderful. A smart young teen in the 1910's with a hard working laborer window father finds a place in a upper class household. When she is discovered reading the library at 3 AM she gains a wealthy patron that provides her with a tutor and access to university - as long as she continues to clean and scrub below stairs. Maisie takes us to WWI and the aftermath. She leaves nursing to become an investigator which begins her mysteries to be solved. I'm looking forward to book 2