10th Anniversary Edition with a special Afterword by the author
Maisie Dobbs got her start as a maid in an aristocratic London household when she was 13. 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 … 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, which 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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I love this series. Of historical interest to me. Strong female character plus associates and others. Very realistic endings.
Well written, reading the rest of the series.
This is the first in a series that keeps me checking to see if a new one has come out yet. Particularly wonderful in the series is the development of the main character from a girl of 13 to a woman of 30 or so with all of the vicissitudes life can offer. Other characters are also memorable. Just a superb set.
I enjoyed this as an audiobook very much! I will say it had a slow build and lots of history (using flashbacks) that is clearly building a foundation for a series. Lots of character building. I am looking forward to the next book, though some of this was quite sad to me.
*small spoiler*
I did think that the slow reveal of the cult-like …
Maisie is a wonderful heroine. She has stayed in my memory since the first time I read her, and I’m very glad she has her own series.
I have read all of the Maisie Dobbs books and this is one of the best. It portrays a period I knew nothing about.
I love this series.
First in a wonderful series
Wonderful writing and characters and a real plot makes for a terrific read. The entire series is excellent.
I’ve read the entire series so far and LOVE all of the books
This book got me hooked on Maisie Dobbs. I can’t wait to read the rest of her books!
I enjoy the Maisie Dobbs series very much! The cast of characters are wonderfully written!
I’ve read a number of the Maisie Dobbs serial, and frankly, I gave up trying to plow through them about four years ago. They could be writing exercises with the intention of creating a story as dryly, monotone and humorlessly as possible. All drama is missing — her writing is akin to reading a police report. And it gives me no joy to write that, …
If you enjoy well-developed characters, excellent timing, just enough description to pull you into another world and a satisfying plot then I advise you begin reading this excellent series with this, the first one. I bet you will love Maisie.
Read all the Maisie Donna books!
I have read all of the Maisie Dobbs books and I am hoping for another one! Great characters, good mysteries, you feel like you’re returning to old friends.
I recommend all the Maisie Dobbs books, but they get much more interesting when she approaches and becomes in the WWII era. Her wall-paper, improvised crime board becomes a little trite after a few books.
Maise is always wonderful.
Well written and good character development.
One of my all time favorite characters!