Customer Reviews

A Lesson in Secrets: A Maisie Dobbs Novel

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the previous novel, changes in Maisie Dobbs' personal life have set her on a new course in her investigations. In the newest book, a bridge is beginning to form between repercussions of the Great War and the yet unknown second World War, while Maisie is asked by the British secret service to take a position as philosophy teacher at a new university in Cambridge which preaches a philosophy of peace, to investigate whether any activies taking place there are subversive to the Crown. The head of the university is a man who wrote a children's book about the war so filled with pacifist leanings that it was banned by the government and was rumored to have caused a mutiny at the front lines. Maisie is not there long before the man is murdered. While Scotland Yard investigates, Maisie continues her own inquiries, and, a bit too priescently, I thought, warns the Secret Service about certain of her students with Nazi leanings and the party itself (which, of course, the Government-types ignore). There is much more for Maisie to learn about the man's life and the secretary who disappears following the death, about the German professor that steps into his place and the wealthy man who funds the school.

In the meantime, Billy Beale works on the case brought to them by Sandra, a young woman whose husband died due to an accident at work. As the story progresses, both Maisie and Billy suspect the accident wasn't one at all. Maisie's old friend Priscilla and her family are drawn into this portion of the story.

Maisie's relationship with her new love progresses slowly in this outing, but those who read the Dobbs books know it's in Maisie's nature to take things methodically. Her dad is also making some changes in his life. Readers who like the earlier stories of Maisie dealing with repercussions of the First World War may dislike signs of the next appearing, but Winspear is not allowing Maisie to remain static in a postwar world. Several of the cards are played early in the mystery, but all-in-all I found the story and characters appealing.

To me, one of the attractive aspects of Jacqueline Winspears' Maisie Dobbs series is that it is set in the period between the World Wars. In Britain particularly, the loss of a generation of young men is sorely felt as well as the unemployment among the veterans, many of whom were maimed in the trench warfare.

In this, the seventh book in the series, Maisie temporarily leaves her assistant, Billy Beale in charge of her private detective agency to assist the Special Branch in their observation of a peace movement. While the Special Branch is concentrating on Communism, Maisie is concerned with the enthusiasm of the group for the new National Socialist movement in Germany and their leader, Adolph Hitler. Maisie is virtually undercover, teaching at a new college that brings together students from many countries to pursue peace.

This is a worthy addition to the series and shows other aspects of Maisie's life-a growing love affair, the inheritance from her mentor, her concern for Billy and his family still grieving the loss of a child. And there is a murder to be solved.

This book, as the others, brings alive this period and helps show the steps toward a new conflict that seems only dimly in the future. I think this is a worthy series and one I highly recommend for both entertainment and understanding of a most interesting time.

A series is usually defined by the things that the novels have in common. What's most striking about this series, however, is the element of change -- change in Maisie Dobbs herself, change as other characters die, in Maisie's sense of herself as a professional, the changes in the social and economic laws of gravity in English society, all of these make for an intensely interesting set of books.

And unlike the Charles Todd series with the depressed/dpressing Ian Rutledge, the Maisie Dobbs books give us a character who is forever scarred by the Great War, yes, but who is also capable of moving on.

That said, I have some problems with the direction this move is taking.

Maybe _the_ most fascinating element of these novels has been the tension generated by the English class system. Maisie, who started life as a housemaid, has been extensively sponsored by her employers -- educated, privately at first, then at Cambridge, she is able to start a detective business, to continue her friendship with an upper-class college chum, and to fend off a variety of marriage proposals.

In this novel, however, Maisie seems to be edging into the middle class. Winspeare is British, but she lives in the States now, and I'm wondering if she hasn't caught a bad case of social mobility. Why can Maisie not continue to be an admirable, smart, accomplished working class woman? Why?

Maisie, now a woman of means, has removed herself entirely from any day-to-day problems with money and access, and is beginning to devote herself to philanthropy. If this were linked more to a sense of her own humble beginnings, I'd not object. But when she thinks of herself as as one of a generation of women who inspire the next gen. to seek education and jobs, she fails to mention how fairy-tale fortunate she herself has been. Taking Maisie back to Cambridge as a lecturer is risky on several levels. Even with the strange little made-up college, there's an alarming number of pitfalls here.

This doesn't detract from the 5-star rating, but it does give me pause and makes me concerned about the direction Winspeare is choosing for the series. Maisie seems to have undergone a sea change between this novel and The Mapping of Love and Death. The change is so marked that I looked online to see if I had missed a book.

Change is good, but I'd like to watch it happen.

When Jacqueline Winspear's newest book arrived, I was in the middle of reading two other books. I *like* those books. Yet I haven't cracked their covers open since I "just peeked a little" at A Lesson in Secrets. Three days later... uh, have I missed anything? I've been busy reading.

Amazon Vine introduce me to heroine Maisie Dobbs with The Mapping of Love and Death. I loved it so much that I've gone back to read the first two books in the series, and I dare say that I'll read the others, too. Fortunately, however, you don't HAVE to have read the earlier books to enjoy this one. While it'd probably help to have a sense of where Maisie came from, each of Winspear's books is impressively self-contained.

In this book: It's 1932, and Maisie is asked to help out the British Secret Service. She's sent to be an assistant professor at a college near Cambridge, one that was founded by a well-known pacifist (one of his books, ostensibly written for children, is rumored to have caused mutinies when soldiers in the Great War read it and decided to lay down their weapons). SOMEthing is going on at the school, and the Secret Service wants insider information. Before long, however, there's a dead body at the college... and Maisie finds herself involved in finding the murderer.

One element of the novel is, of course, its timeframe. Suburbs are novel new ideas. The car mechanic wistfully wishes for the good old days when he could take care of horses instead. There's "some trouble" going on in Spain. The college is invited to participate in a debate about the relevance of the National Socialist German Workers Party to Britain -- I could almost hear the ominous music in the background.

What makes this book special is Winspear's quiet writing style. Her books do not have derring-do and adventure and shoot-outs. This is gentle English conversations over tea. Introspection. Contemplation. Maisie's primary skill is an ability to *notice things*, and Winspear takes you along on her observations. There's also really good writing that doesn't get in the way of storytelling: "There was a poverty here that clung to the soul, as if it were the fetid ocher smog that lingered above the dark water of the River Thames."

I completely enjoyed this book. I think you will, too.

A Lesson in Secrets is the weakest entry in the Maisie Dobbs series so far. Maisie is called upon by a secret government agency to work undercover in a university in Cambridge founded by the author of a pacifist children's book which may have caused a mutiny during the Great War. Is this institution a danger to the country? A murder is committed almost as soon as Maisie arrives which brings in Maisie's Special Branch pollce friends. Complications ensue, as Maisie must keep her business going, convince her employee Billy to move from the slum where he lives with his family to a home she is (basically) giving him, convince her father to move into her country home, sort out the problems of Sandra Tapley, an acquaintance whose husband may have been murdered, teach her classes at the school, drive back and forth from Cambridge to London, to Kent, to Oxford, to Ipswich, accept advice on her love life from her friend Priscilla, worry about her lover James' constancy, etc, etc, etc.

The book seems to function solely as a vehicle for Ms. Winspear to tell us about conscientious objection in Britain during World War I, and about how the powers that were, were threatened in the thirties by pacifism and Bolshevism, underestimating nascent Nazism. There's a story in there, but it didn't turn out to be a Maisie Dobbs novel. The prose is flat and monotonous, events happen to Maisie and the other characters, but the characters don't develop. Particularly irritating is Maisie's foray into teaching philosophy, which is barely touched on at all except in a vague and idealistic way--all Maisie seems to do is correct essays (on???), and write the words "good" and "evil" on her blackboard. Of course she is a marvelous teacher, succeeding as splendidly at that as she does at everything else except her love life, which is depicted flaccidly, without a hint of real engagement. This reader no longer cares whether she and James find happiness together.

Miss Winspear's earlier novels in this series are far more lively. Try one of them instead. This flat meander over England lacks the spark of life, as bloodless as the university murder it centers on.

Jacqueline Winspear has done it again!!!!!! This book is a GREAT addition to the Maisie Dobbs series.

If you have read other books about Maisie Dobbs, you will love this one. If you are new to the series and want to try it out, you can start with this book. Winspear put just enough background information so anyone new to the series will understand and be able to care about the characters by the end of chapter one.

In "A Lesson in Secrets," Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear's unconventional woman sleuth, goes undercover on behalf of Scotland Yard's Special Branch, as foreshadowed in her previous novel. Maisie accepts a post as a junior lecturer of philosophy at Cambridge's College of St. Francis, charged with determining whether anything is going on at the college that needs concern the British Secret Service, or if they are just a gathering of harmless idealists.

Maisie being Maisie, however, someone is murdered shortly after she arrives on campus. Although it is "not her brief" as Detective Chief Superintendent MacFarlane sardonically observes, she cannot resist the urge to investigate. Meanwhile, "back at the agency," a former colleague of Maisie's has a case of her own, which Maisie must largely relegate her capable assistant, Billy Beale.

This was a solid, enjoyable read. Those who find her confidence and competence irritating will undoubtedly be annoyed again - she manages to solve the mysteries, teach her classes, track down missing individuals and make investment decisions without turning a hair. I did find her excellence in teaching a bit unrealistic, although her relationshop with Maurice certainly gave her the depth of thought and exposure to the curriculum. Subtle undercurrents of conflict are stirring below the surface - Maisie is not entirely comfortable with her new role as property-owner and woman of means, and is a bit torn about leaving her beloved agency, even for a short time. Although her new love interest is off-screen for much of the novel, she may need to make a choice that could impact her life severely. All of this plays out against the ominous backdrop of the growing Nazi threat, which, of course, adds tension for the 2010 reader, who knows how that story ends.

I really enjoyed the theme of secrets that was woven throughout the novel. Everyone has them, some harmless, some not so much - and the devastating impact of some of those secrets, once revealed, is part of what stays with me now that I've finished the novel. I also enjoyed the re-emergence of MacFarlane, complete with cutting wit, and the poignant Stratton. Caldwell is really no match for Maisie or her team. The murder mystery had some very interesting twists and turns, some hinted at, some less obvious, that really helped keep the story moving forward.

On the slightly less successful side, the second mystery thread wasn't that well integrated and served as a bit of a distraction - plus, I would like to see more of Maisie's growth and change onscreen. We also didn't get to see quite enough of her father, Priscilla or James, so the emotional connectedness side was a bit lacking, especially now that Maurice is gone. I was glad to see Ms. Winspear gave Maisie time to grieve and pay tribute to her mentor; and am also glad that she doesn't make the mistake of overloading her series with secondary characters and having to give each of them "lip service."

This is an enjoyable addition to the series, although not quite as seminal as "The Mapping of Love and Death." I look forward to reading more about Maisie's future activities, particularly how they play out in wartime, and will be very interested in seeing how her changed status impacts her career and life decisions.

Jacqueline Winspear's adds to her winning "Maisie Dobbs" series with her latest, "A Lesson in Secrets". From the first book in the series, "Maisie Dobbs", Winspear has brought her character, in age and development, from the 1920's to the early 1930's. For those who have not read the previous six or so books in the series, Maisie was a girl from a working-class background, who is adopted and mentored by several wealthy patrons, who see in Maisie a brilliant diamond-in-the-rough. She attended Girton College at Cambridge, worked as a nurse in the Great War, and returns to post-war London and becomes a private investigator with a psychiatric "bent".

The year is 1932 in London, and Maisie's investigation company is doing well. She's being courted by the son of her benefactors, but she retains her ties to her working class background. She is asked to take up a case by Scotland Yard and Special Services, to look into a new college, recently established on the Cambridge University campus, a college dedicated to "peace". Attended by both British and foreign students, the aim of the college's founder and president, is to formulate "peace" and talks between former warring parties, in hopes of preventing another future war. Maisie applies for and gets a job at the college as an instructor in philosophy.

While "in college", Maisie looks at the students and faculty. What is the aim of the college? Why are so many students and faculty sneaking into London? The head of the school is murdered and Maisie sets out, with others to find the killer.

Author Winspear tries, and for the most part succeeds, in connecting her story with the times. She - though Maisie - is cognisant of the growing threat that Hitler and his Nazi party pose in both Germany, and through extension, in the rest of Europe and England. She mentions the troubles in Spain, which in 1932 were really about two or so years in the future. That may be edited out of the final copy. This is Winspear's most overtly political book in the Dobbs' series. She also takes on - a little bit - the British class system when writing about the two other plot points.

Winspear's books are excellent. But I'm curious how this book would work if read by a first-time "Maisie Dobbs" reader. As a series continues, it almost becomes harder for a first-time reader to get the flow of the action. Winspear does a good job of giving the back story of both her characters and plots, but I think a little back list reading might be called for before sinking into this book. For the long-time "Maisie Dobbs" reader, this is another excellent novel.

I've been a Maisie Dobbs fan from her inception several years ago and count myself among those who eagerly await the latest Maisie release, so I was sadly surprised to find myself disappointed with this latest installment of Maisie Dobbs and her adventures. I was so bored with it, I found myself struggling to finish it.
While I understand and applaud the author for having her character try to move forward in time and embrace the historical events leading to WWII, I felt the setting for "A Lesson in Secrets" wasn't as emotionally developed or vividly portrayed as in the earlier books; it was almost as if Maisie herself was only an observer instead of a player in her own story, like she herself wasn't comfortable in this new time period, and the author was at a loss as to how to draw us, the readers, into Maisie's expanding world. Additionally,many of the characters felt "flat" to me, lacking development and depth. As I was reading "Lesson in Secrets", I was reminded of reading literature intended for young adults, with its lack of complexity and superficial character development.
Inserting Maisie into academia as an instructor might have worked better for me too if it had been handled more realistically. As an educator, I felt the author's treatment of this aspect to be frustratingly vague. Certainly, having Maisie morph from a Private Investigator to College Professor should have been approached with more sophistication and complexity than it was. For example, I'd have enjoyed knowing her students and having some insight into Maisie's relationships with them or reading about obstacles she encountered while teaching for the first time. Everything was just too peachy-keen to be true. If Maisie could manage this transition so effortlessly, we might find her assuming the role of neurosurgeon without a hitch in the next episode!
Finally, Winspeare needs to move Billy to Canada already. Maisie desperately needs a new partner who can add a new dimension to the new time period, someone who could act as foil to her turgid love affair with James.
I will look for the next Maisie Dobbs, but don't know that I'll pre-purchase it in hardcover.

This is the second Maisie Dobbs book I've read and, while I enjoyed it, I think it could be better. The main part of the book focuses on Maisie's first job for the British Secret Service, where she goes undercover as a lecturer at a college dedicated to world peace. When the founder and head of the college is murdered, Maisie's intelligence work gets entangled with the investigation of the murder.

There are plenty of shady characters, mysterious comings and goings, and concealed identities in this case, making it somewhat difficult to figure out who the murderer might be. Maisie's investigation doesn't have many flashes of brilliance and she goes down plenty of wrong streets in putting together the picture of the founder's death and life.

There probably wasn't enough here to make a complete novel and so a second, and unrelated mystery is added to the book. Even more slight than the college mystery, this one involves a former employee who is suddenly widowed when an engine block falls on her mechanic husband. She is distraught and tries to solve the mystery herself while Maisie is away, getting herself into trouble with the law.

Ultimately, and with seemingly little involvement from either Maisie or Sandra, the widow, the mystery is solved.

And in academia that mystery is solved by the neat trick of a student's story.

But the whole thing left me dissatistfied. I didn't have problems with the writing, but I do wish that the two cases in to book had either been entwined in some way or that they had been fleshed out into two books, or divided into two stories.

All in all it was a bit of a disappointment.