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What do Hercule Poirot and Charlotte Gray have in common?
It may be the wonderful Maisie Dobbs....
July 2003 | Fiction
$24 Hardcover
ISBN: 1-56947-330-7
Dram. rights: Amy Rennert
Trans. rights: Soho Press |
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A national bestseller, a New York Times
Notable Book 2003, and a 2004 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel
"Maisie Dobbs
is a quirky literary creation. If you cross-pollinated Vera Britain's
classic World War I memoir, Testament of Youth, with Dorothy Sayers's
Harriet Vane mysteries and a dash of the old PBS series 'Upstairs, Downstairs,'
you'd approximate the peculiar range of topics and tones within this
novel. Neither flora nor fauna, fish nor fowl, it also behaves by turns
like a romance, a tale of terror, an historical novel and a primer on
holistic health.... Engaging. "
—Maureen Corrigan, "Fresh Air" on
NP |
“Maisie Dobbs is a welcome
addition to the sleuthing scene. Simultaneously self-reliant and vulnerable,
Maisie isn’t a character I’ll easily forget.”
—Elizabeth George |
"[An] inspired debut novel, a delightful
mix of mystery, war story and romance set in WWI-era England....Winspear
[is] a new writer to watch."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review) |
"A poignant and compelling story....
In Maisie, Winspear has created a complex new investigator. [She captures]
the post-World War I era effectively and handles human drama with compassionate
sensitivity...The reader is left yearning for more discreet investigations
into the nature of what it means to feel truth."
—Library Journal (starred review) |
"Deft.... Prepare to be astonished
at the sensitivity and wisdom with which Maisie resolves her first professional
assignment...Winspear takes her through her ordeal with great compassion."
—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book
Review |
"A satisfying debut.... Winspear does
a marvelous job of introducing Maisie's background without losing track
of the story at hand while at the same time providing us with an engrossing
look at a world of slowly eroding class distinctions where women could
attend college but not earn degrees. We look forward to many more return
visits to the world of Maisie Dobbs."
—Denver Post |
"Surprisingly fresh.... Winspear does
a fine job with the 'Upstairs, Downstairs' aspects of the story, depicting
the class tensions that inevitably arise as Dobbs climbs to a new station
in life. Her progression from domestic staff to college student to wartime
nurse to private investigator is both believable and compelling."
—San Francisco Chronicle |
"Meet Maisie Dobbs, who in 1929 launches
her career as a private investigator and finds herself drawn back to
the Great War she thought she'd long since put behind her: an unexpected
beginning for Maisie—and a rare treat for mystery fans!"
—Charles Todd, author of The Inspector Ian
Rutledge series |
"Maisie Dobbs is the perfect heroine
for this atmospheric mystery—smart and self-reliant, but also vulnerable,
haunted by her experiences as a nurse in France during WW I. In this
wonderful debut, we care deeply about her, as her very first case as
a private investigator brings her face-to-face with the demons in her
own past. I hope Maisie is around for a long, long time."
—Kristine Kaufman, The Snow Goose Bookstore,
Stanwood, Washington |
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Maisie entered domestic service in 1910 at the age of thirteen, to work as
a maid at the Belgravia mansion of Lady Rowan Compton. When her remarkable
intelligence and innate love of learning are discovered by her employer, Maisie
becomes the pupil of Maurice Blanche, a learned friend of the Comptons who
is often retained by Europe's elite, and the police, to conduct discreet investigations.
Eventually, Maisie enters Girton College at Cambridge University, but the
escalation of World War I intervenes to change her plans. She serves as a nurse
at the front and falls in love with a handsome young doctor, only to lose him.
In 1929, following an apprenticeship assisting Blanche iin his work, Maissie
hangs out her shingle: M. DOBBS, TRADE AND PERSONAL INVESTIGATIONS. She soon
becomes enmeshed in a mystery suurrounding The Retreat, a reclusive community
of veterans wounded in body and spirit. At first, Maisie only suspects foul
play, but she must act quickly when Lady Rowan's son decides to sign away his
fortune and take refuge at The Retreat. A coincidence? Maisie has learned that
coincidences can lead to the truth, and hurriedly investigates The Retreat.
She uncovers a disturbing mystery at its core which in an astonishing dénouement,
gives Maisie the courage to confront the ghost that has haunted her for over
ten years.
This
is the first novel by JACQUELINE
WINSPEAR, who was born and raised in England. After a career in publishing
there, she and her husband settled in California in 1990.
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