Maisie Dobbs was born in England before World War I when the roles between the landed gentry and the servants were strict and the lower classes were supposed to know their place. Maisie was a maid but her intelligence caught the attention of her employer Lady Rowan. Luckily for Maisie, Lady Rowan ignored convention and became Maisie’s sponsor guiding her to an education, but just as Maisie began college World War I started halting her education and changing both Maisie and England.

Years later England was becoming a different society with the roles between the classes blurring as the scars from the war left many men and women injured both physically and psychologically which affected the greater society. As the distinctions between the classes changed Maisie’s opportunities have also changed. She has gone from being a nurse in the war, then finishing her education and apprenticeship which led to being a self employed psychologist and investigator. The Maisie Dobbs Series by Jacqueline Winspear chronicles Maisie’s life and investigations.

This best-selling, critically recognized series about the fictional Massie Dobbs focuses on the real issues of England between the wars where as a nation the country was trying to heal from the tragedies of the war while facing social upheaval from the economic depression that continued to displace people. These are somber novels that examine the motivations behind a case as well as pursuing the murderer or question that Maisie must solve before the case can be resolved. There are nine novels in the series beginning with the first novel Maisie Dobbs where this extraordinary investigator is introduced.

Christina Callison

Christina Callison has been blogging about books for the library’s website since 2006. She has read hundreds of books that include mysteries, fantasies, horror, thrillers, non-fiction, general fiction, and some science fiction. She continues with her goal of finding new books and authors to recommend.