Barnes & NobleMaisie Dobbs Maisie Dobbs Series #1 by Jacqueline Winspear

Fun & Engaging Featuring Maisie's Back Story

MAISIE DOBBS (2003) is a fun, engaging mystery that begins an 18-book series of Maisie Dobbs adventures, created by bestsellingsauthor Jacqueline Winspear. I picked up the audiobook version (exceptionally well read by Orlagh Cassidy) to occupy me during a 6-hour car ride. I then became so involved in the story that, once I arrived, I had to sit and listen to the final 4 hours that same evening. Generously awarded four stars on Goodreads. Since this introduces the Maisie Dobbs series, it sets up Maisie's back story. As the book begins, we meet her late in 1928 in London, when she is setting up her own investigation business. Then, during the course of the story, we travel back to pre World War I, to learn about her origins. In 1910, when Maisie was 13 years old, soon after the death of her mother, her father realizes that a child as exceptionally bright as Maisie simply won't have the opportunities she deserves coming from a poor, working class family. So he sends her into service, working for a wealthy, well-connected, couple of aristocrats. (Oh, that English class system!) One of the more interesting aspects of the story for me is watching Maisie discover and wrestle with the downsides of being unusually bright and unusually fortunate. Turns out Maisie's insatiable love of learning drives her on, all the while managing to fulfill her responsibilities as maid. As the war years pass, we see the impact it has on Maisie, on those she cares about, and on British society at large. But all her experiences, over time, help Maisie to discover how best to combine her intellectual interests with her innate abilities, in order to earn a living. I recommend the book. There's no heavy lifting. It held my attention without my feeling uncomfortably tense. I love learning more about the class system in England. Overall, the book is just plain entertaining. And the narrator's ability to maintain so many distinctive voices was particularly captivating. Will I go on to read/listen to more of this series? Maybe. Perhaps the next time I have a long car ride.