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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Enjoyed this entry in the series - 3 1/2 stars, rounded up because I'm feeling generous tonight.
Less "woo woo" in this one, for which I am glad. I was afraid that Maisie was leaning too heavily on that "I'm a sensitive, I can just *feel* things" angle in a few of the previous books. This one had none of that.
It also deals with something that I'm interested in - the rise of Nazism, and its appeal to some very rich and influential folks in Europe outside of Germany.
I also like that Maisie was recruited into the special services for a case - this will give another avenue for her talents besides traditional type cases.
Less "woo woo" in this one, for which I am glad. I was afraid that Maisie was leaning too heavily on that "I'm a sensitive, I can just *feel* things" angle in a few of the previous books. This one had none of that.
It also deals with something that I'm interested in - the rise of Nazism, and its appeal to some very rich and influential folks in Europe outside of Germany.
I also like that Maisie was recruited into the special services for a case - this will give another avenue for her talents besides traditional type cases.
This one's a mystery-in-a-mystery, with Maisie in a new profession. Very well done.
The Maisie Dobbs books bring me so much pleasure. I absolutely love them and know I’ll be bereft when I’ve read the last in the series and have nothing to look forward to.
Set in 1933, this book has Maisie secretly working for the government at a small college while working as a philosophy professor. The college has a lot of international students and is a spot where anti-British sentiment could be growing as Hitler and Communism gradually become potential threats to the empire. A murder at the college might be connected to subversive activity. Maisie does a lot of traveling between her home in London, the college in Cambridge, and her father’s cottage in Kent. Makes me want a convertible MG....
Set in 1933, this book has Maisie secretly working for the government at a small college while working as a philosophy professor. The college has a lot of international students and is a spot where anti-British sentiment could be growing as Hitler and Communism gradually become potential threats to the empire. A murder at the college might be connected to subversive activity. Maisie does a lot of traveling between her home in London, the college in Cambridge, and her father’s cottage in Kent. Makes me want a convertible MG....
Orlagh Cassidy once again brings Maisie Dobbs into wonderful life while reading "A Lesson in Secrets."
In this story, the Secret Service presses Maisie into service. She is sent to St. Francis College in Cambridge as a junior lecturer. The founder of the college published a popular children's book that is rumored to have started a mutiny among soldiers on both the English and German sides of WWI.
When she gets to the college, she discovers many secrets and we're treated to a look at what was going on in academia leading up to the second World War.
I love that these stories aren't very dramatic. It's just sort of an even keel while Maisie works through the story.
In this story, the Secret Service presses Maisie into service. She is sent to St. Francis College in Cambridge as a junior lecturer. The founder of the college published a popular children's book that is rumored to have started a mutiny among soldiers on both the English and German sides of WWI.
When she gets to the college, she discovers many secrets and we're treated to a look at what was going on in academia leading up to the second World War.
I love that these stories aren't very dramatic. It's just sort of an even keel while Maisie works through the story.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't know whether to give the book 3 or 4 stars. I liked it but I have liked other Maisie Dobbs' books best. A Lesson in Secrets provides a new setting for Maisie Dobbs and a new challenge but I think it could have been way more interesting that it was.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the book but the resolution of the mystery felt a bit flat to me. I don't know, I have some mixed feelings with that ending.
However, I still enjoyed reading the book and I love Maisie's character and seeing her character evolve.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the book but the resolution of the mystery felt a bit flat to me. I don't know, I have some mixed feelings with that ending.
However, I still enjoyed reading the book and I love Maisie's character and seeing her character evolve.
I was really starting to roll my eyes at the Maisie/James thing, so I'm glad to have read Priscilla's response - "keep working if you want to." And now I want to visit Cambridge.
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear is the eighth book in the Maisie Dobbs series of cozy mysteries, but can be read as a stand-alone novel. Set between the end of WWI and the beginnings of WWII, Dobbs is called upon by the British Special Branch to be their eyes and ears inside the College of St. Francis about events that would cause concern to the Crown. Once installed as a junior lecturer of philosophy, a murder occurs that sets events in motion and tangles Dobbs in yet another mystery.
Dobbs runs her own private investigation agency in London, but she’s called away to a college in Cambridge on special assignment, leaving the office in the capable and reliable hands of Billy Beale. Beyond the murder mystery and the search for anything that threatens national security, Dobbs is concerned about her father and her friend Sandra, who has just lost her husband in a freak accident.
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2012/03/a-lesson-in-secrets-by-jacqueline-winspear.html
Dobbs runs her own private investigation agency in London, but she’s called away to a college in Cambridge on special assignment, leaving the office in the capable and reliable hands of Billy Beale. Beyond the murder mystery and the search for anything that threatens national security, Dobbs is concerned about her father and her friend Sandra, who has just lost her husband in a freak accident.
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2012/03/a-lesson-in-secrets-by-jacqueline-winspear.html
Does anyone else love Maisie Dobbs as much as I do? When I say I love this character, I truly do! I think the reason why is because she was educated in a time when women weren’t able to further their education and she has been a nurse and private investigator. She is badass for a woman in the 1920s & 1930s. She has her own money, houses, a business, & now in A Lesson in Secrets, she takes on new responsibilities as she assists the officers of Scotland Yard. She is now working as a professor to help solve a murder. As she works as both a professor and informant for Scotland Yard, she still has to be a businesswoman, a dutiful daughter, & keep interest in her newfound relationship. A Lesson in Secrets also introduces Adolf Hitler and his influence is seen as some of the students at the university gravitate towards his philosophy.
Listening to Hilter’s philosophy as I live in 2021 really made me realize that things haven’t changed. Things should progress not go backwards or stay stagnant. Times deserve to change & that time is now.
Side note: I choose to listen to the audiobook instead of reading them. I love the narrator’s voice and I visualize the imagery much better.
Listening to Hilter’s philosophy as I live in 2021 really made me realize that things haven’t changed. Things should progress not go backwards or stay stagnant. Times deserve to change & that time is now.
Side note: I choose to listen to the audiobook instead of reading them. I love the narrator’s voice and I visualize the imagery much better.
I think with each book I fall more and more into this series. I love how each books brings so much character development and none of the characters are just living static lives. I read these books for the interesting mysteries, but also to see what is in store for each recurring character. The writing is sophisticated and beautiful and the story lines are also full of emotion and intrigue with interesting outcomes. I am happy that Maisie is finding some happiness and progress in her life, though I wish she would make certain person decisions FASTER. This series is also interesting because it's showing a time in England where the world is in transition after the "Great War" and unknowingly on a crash course to WWII.