Maisie Dobbs (novel)
Encyclopedia
Maisie Dobbs is a mystery
by Jacqueline Winspear
published in 2003. Set in England between 1910 and 1929, it features the title character Maisie Dobbs
, a private investigator. Generally well-received by critics due mostly to Maisie's quirky
character, the novel has been nominated for several awards and is a recipient of the 2003 Agatha Award
for Best First Novel. It is the first in the Maisie Dobbs series.
Mansion of Lady Rowan Compton in 1910 at fourteen years old after her mother dies and she must help her father make ends meet. Soon after getting caught in Lady Compton's library fulfilling her joy of reading and learning, Maisie is introduced to Maurice Blanche, close friend of the Comptons, and becomes his pupil. Blanche, a discreet investigator
, teaches Maisie as much as he can about psychology
, science
, and anything else Maisie is willing to learn. When Maisie becomes old enough she attends Girton College at Cambridge University, but threats of war soon intervene. World War I
intensifies and the pressures of war can be felt in Maisie's England
. Deciding that the war efforts are extremely important to her and her country, Maisie volunteers as a nurse at the front, where she meets a young man, with whom she falls in love. Part of the mystery surrounding Maisie is what happens to the young man.
After the war, Maisie apprentices with Blanche in his investigative work. In 1929, after Blanche has retired, Maisie opens her own investigation business. Her first seemingly open-and-shut case involves her in a mystery surrounding something known as The Retreat, a suspicious home for veterans of the war. Maisie must act fast when she learns that Lady Compton's own son has signed over his fortune to The Retreat and has taken asylum there. With the help of Billy Beale, a caretaker at her office and veteran of the Great War himself, she is able to infiltrate The Retreat. As Maisie uncovers the mystery of The Retreat she is also confronted with her own ghosts from the war after ten years of holding the memories at bay.
points out that "World War I is a major theme" in the book. Winspear notes that Maisie is "very much a woman of her time" and her interest in the lives of women in Europe during the years surrounding World War I became a backdrop for the story.
became deeply interested in World War I
and its after effects because of her grandfather, who was severely wounded and shell-shocked after serving at The Battle of Somme in 1916. At first she did not set out to write a war novel, but her deep interest in history provided a framework for the character of Maisie Dobbs to develop. In what she describes as "a moment of artistic grace", Winspear says the character of Maisie Dobbs developed in her mind while stuck in traffic. From there, Winspear began intensely researching the Great War and 1920s England. While recovering from an accident that broke her arm and crushed her shoulder, Winspear completed over half of Maisie Dobbs with just one hand on the keyboard. She sent out sample chapters and proposals to thirty literary agents and received several phone calls back within a few weeks. Within a few months she had signed a contract with an agent
and sold the book by the next spring. The book was published the following year by Soho Press, Incorporated.
crime columnist Marilyn Stasio
. Reviewer for School Library Journal
Susan H. Woodcock characterizes Maisie as a strong protagonist. The book received a starred review from Publishers Weekly
and was called an inspired debut. It was also featured as one of the top twelve best mystery books of 2003 in Publishers Weekly. In addition, Maisie Dobbs was chosen as one of School Library Journal's best adult books for high school students in 2003. Not everyone was impressed with Winspear's debut novel. The Kirkus Review for Maisie Dobbs states "Winspear rarely attempts to elevate her prose past the common romance, and what might have been a journey through a strata of England between the wars is instead just simple, convenient and contrived." NPR
book critic Maureen Corrigan
notes that the coincidences in the plot are too "wopping", but comments that the secondary characters are "winning" and Maisie herself is what truly draws readers in as "part clairvoyant, part intellectual, and part new age
therapist".
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
by Jacqueline Winspear
Jacqueline Winspear
Jacqueline Winspear is a mystery writer, author of the ‘Maisie Dobbs’ series of books which explore the aftermath of World War I. She has won several mystery writing awards for books in this popular series....
published in 2003. Set in England between 1910 and 1929, it features the title character Maisie Dobbs
Maisie Dobbs
Maisie Dobbs is a fictional character created by author Jacqueline Winspear. Maisie is a "psychologist and investigator" in post World War I London. A nurse during the war, Maisie returned to London to work with her mentor, accomplished detective Dr. Maurice Blanche...
, a private investigator. Generally well-received by critics due mostly to Maisie's quirky
Quirky
Quirky, is another name for eccentric behavior or something 'out of the ordinary' in general.It may also refer to:* Quirky, a website for proposing inventions.* Quirky subject, a linguistic phenomenon.* Quirkyalone, someone who enjoys being single....
character, the novel has been nominated for several awards and is a recipient of the 2003 Agatha Award
Agatha Award
The Agatha Awards are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write via the same method as Agatha Christie...
for Best First Novel. It is the first in the Maisie Dobbs series.
Plot
Maisie becomes a maid at the BelgraviaBelgravia
Belgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Noted for its immensely expensive residential properties, it is one of the wealthiest districts in the world...
Mansion of Lady Rowan Compton in 1910 at fourteen years old after her mother dies and she must help her father make ends meet. Soon after getting caught in Lady Compton's library fulfilling her joy of reading and learning, Maisie is introduced to Maurice Blanche, close friend of the Comptons, and becomes his pupil. Blanche, a discreet investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
, teaches Maisie as much as he can about psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, and anything else Maisie is willing to learn. When Maisie becomes old enough she attends Girton College at Cambridge University, but threats of war soon intervene. World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
intensifies and the pressures of war can be felt in Maisie's England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Deciding that the war efforts are extremely important to her and her country, Maisie volunteers as a nurse at the front, where she meets a young man, with whom she falls in love. Part of the mystery surrounding Maisie is what happens to the young man.
After the war, Maisie apprentices with Blanche in his investigative work. In 1929, after Blanche has retired, Maisie opens her own investigation business. Her first seemingly open-and-shut case involves her in a mystery surrounding something known as The Retreat, a suspicious home for veterans of the war. Maisie must act fast when she learns that Lady Compton's own son has signed over his fortune to The Retreat and has taken asylum there. With the help of Billy Beale, a caretaker at her office and veteran of the Great War himself, she is able to infiltrate The Retreat. As Maisie uncovers the mystery of The Retreat she is also confronted with her own ghosts from the war after ten years of holding the memories at bay.
Major themes
In an interview with Jacqueline Winspear, Andi Schechter of Library JournalLibrary Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
points out that "World War I is a major theme" in the book. Winspear notes that Maisie is "very much a woman of her time" and her interest in the lives of women in Europe during the years surrounding World War I became a backdrop for the story.
Development history
Jacqueline WinspearJacqueline Winspear
Jacqueline Winspear is a mystery writer, author of the ‘Maisie Dobbs’ series of books which explore the aftermath of World War I. She has won several mystery writing awards for books in this popular series....
became deeply interested in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and its after effects because of her grandfather, who was severely wounded and shell-shocked after serving at The Battle of Somme in 1916. At first she did not set out to write a war novel, but her deep interest in history provided a framework for the character of Maisie Dobbs to develop. In what she describes as "a moment of artistic grace", Winspear says the character of Maisie Dobbs developed in her mind while stuck in traffic. From there, Winspear began intensely researching the Great War and 1920s England. While recovering from an accident that broke her arm and crushed her shoulder, Winspear completed over half of Maisie Dobbs with just one hand on the keyboard. She sent out sample chapters and proposals to thirty literary agents and received several phone calls back within a few weeks. Within a few months she had signed a contract with an agent
Literary agent
A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers and film producers and assists in the sale and deal negotiation of the same. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwriters and major non-fiction writers...
and sold the book by the next spring. The book was published the following year by Soho Press, Incorporated.
Reception
Maisie Dobbs was mostly well received by critics. The title character has been described as strange, clever, and resourceful by New York Times Book ReviewThe New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
crime columnist Marilyn Stasio
Marilyn Stasio
Marilyn Stasio is a New York City area author, writer and literary critic. She has been the "Crime Columnist" for The New York Times Book Review since about 1988, having written over 650 reviews as of January 2009. She says she reads "a few" crime books a year professionally and many more for...
. Reviewer for School Library Journal
School Library Journal
The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
Susan H. Woodcock characterizes Maisie as a strong protagonist. The book received a starred review from Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
and was called an inspired debut. It was also featured as one of the top twelve best mystery books of 2003 in Publishers Weekly. In addition, Maisie Dobbs was chosen as one of School Library Journal's best adult books for high school students in 2003. Not everyone was impressed with Winspear's debut novel. The Kirkus Review for Maisie Dobbs states "Winspear rarely attempts to elevate her prose past the common romance, and what might have been a journey through a strata of England between the wars is instead just simple, convenient and contrived." NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
book critic Maureen Corrigan
Maureen Corrigan
Maureen Corrigan is an American journalist, author and literary critic. She writes for the "Book World" section of The Washington Post, and is a book critic on the NPR radio program Fresh Air. In 2005, she published a literary memoir, Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in...
notes that the coincidences in the plot are too "wopping", but comments that the secondary characters are "winning" and Maisie herself is what truly draws readers in as "part clairvoyant, part intellectual, and part new age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
therapist".
Awards and nominations
| Award | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Agatha Award Agatha Award The Agatha Awards are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write via the same method as Agatha Christie... , Best First Novel |
2003 | Winner |
| Alex Award Alex Awards The Alex Awards are also a separate award given for excellence in entertainment packaging.The Alex Awards is an annual event designed to commend and honor the ten books published for adults during the previous year, which have been also judged to have "special appeal" for young readers, primarily... |
2004 | Among 10 winners |
| Barry Award Barry Award (for crime novels) The Barry Award is a crime literary prize awarded annually since 1997 by the editors of Deadly Pleasures, an American quarterly publication for crime fiction readers. From 2007-2009 the award was jointly presented with the publication Mystery News... , Best First Mystery Novel |
2004 | Nominated |
| Dilys Award Dilys Award The Dilys Award have been presented every year since 1992 by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. It is given to the mystery title of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association is an association of retail businesses... |
2004 | Nominated |
| Edgar Award Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America... |
2004 | Nominated |
| Macavity Awards Macavity Awards The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the "mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The award is given in four categories -- best novel,... , Best First Mystery Novel |
2004 | Winner |