For months now I've been reading other bloggers' reviews of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs mysteries. Everyone likes them. So, I looked in the box of books given to me a while ago and found Messenger of Truth. This isn't the first in the series, but I don't usually have the opportunity to read a series in order so I plunged right in.This story is set in London in 1931. The setting is of a changed city after World War I where some women have taken on new types of jobs but the poor are still almost Dickensian in their lives and the rich are oblivious to their plight. Maisie has, after a breakdown, set herself up as a psychologist and inquiry agent (Private Eye) with an assistant, Billy Beale, who is a poor man with a large family to support. He feels fortunate to have a job and is immensely loyal to Maisie. She has also rented her own apartment, though the heat is iffy in this very cold winter.Her client in the story is Georgina Bassington-Hope (love the name) whose brother, Nick, an artist, has died in an apparent accident. He fell from large scaffolding erected to mount his latest work, what everyone suspects is a triptych. There is a younger brother, Harry, who plays the trumpet and is eternally in debt to dubious people, and an older sister, Noelle, who is the practical member of an artistic, creative family. She is also a war widow. The parents, both artists, are still alive, living in the old family home.All of these characters are splendidly drawn. I must admit I've been catching myself talking like a Londoner in the 1930s. Along with the immediate mystery of whether Nick fell or was murdered, there is a pervasive, lurking suspicion involving the rise of Hitler's Nazi Party in Germany. What does it all mean for Europe and particularly England? We are introduced to Nick's best friends, also artists, Billy's family, Maisie's father, and her beau. Lots of characters, but reading the book is something like sitting in a comfortable room beside a roaring fire on a cold winter day as a good storyteller weaves a magical tale. I thought it started out slowly but the characters were interesting enough to draw me in until I was deeply involved. I want to read the older books now, but not having done so didn't dampen my enthusiasm about Messenger of Truth at all. No wonder my book blogging friends rave about Winspear's books.
Messenger of Truth is the fourth book in the Maisie Dobbs series by British-born American author, Jacqueline Winspear. When the death of controversial artist Nicholas Bassington-Hope, from a fall whilst setting up his latest exhibition, is ruled as accidental, his twin sister Georgina is unconvinced. Georgina, an outspoken journalist, seeks out the help of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. In the course of her investigations, Maisie meets the bohemian Bassington-Hope family, Nick’s fellow artists from the colony at Dungeness, his promoter, gallery owner Stig Svenson, and the collector who is determined to own all of his work, wealthy American Randolph Bradley. And while all the evidence points to an unfortunate fall, Maisie soon finds that plenty of possible motives exist for Nick’s murder. Nick was known for including real people in his paintings, careless of whom it might upset. Did his latest masterpiece, secreted away in an unknown lockup, offend the wrong person? Or did he fall foul of his younger brother’s contacts with the underworld? Was Randolph looking to increase the value of his collection (as the death of an artist is bound to do), or annoyed that he refused to sell the masterpiece? What were his artist friends, of late noticeably wealthier, hiding? Were the recent quarrels with his siblings relevant? Maisie is left to determine the true story alone, as Billy Beale has problems of his own. DI Stratton is being less than helpful and things come to a head with Maisie’s suitor, Andrew Dene. This instalment touches on war artists, war propaganda, the atrocities of war, the scourge of childhood diseases, and the loss of art works to richer countries. Stolen heirloom diamonds, European works of art and smugglers all feature as Maisie delves into the world of art. Winspear develops her main characters further and gives the reader an original plot with enough twists to keep the pages turning. Winspear uses some wonderfully descriptive prose: her depiction of the converted railway carriage is particularly evocative. This is another excellent mystery that skilfully conjures the feel of post-war England and her inhabitants. Fans will look forward to the next book in the series, An Incomplete Revenge.
What do You think about Messenger Of Truth (2006)?
A war does not end with an Armistice. The fall-out goes on and on, as long as the survivors are alive. And maybe longer. Ms. Winspear sets her series of murder mysteries in London and environs just in-between the two world wars. Her plots involve the lingering effects of war, the reactions and feelings of those survivors, as well as the plight of ordinary citizens at a time of financial recession. Her sleuth, Maisie Dobbs, an unmarried still-young woman who has risen from the servant class to the middle class thanks to benefactors who paid for her education, usually works for the moneyed rich but is also aware of the troubles of the poor. The plots are well-designed, the characters interesting. I like Maisie herself; I can imagine that not everyone would. This book is the fourth in a series. Ms. Winspear's books have won prizes for novels meant for adults, but suitable for "young adults"; I presume that the translation is, no sex, no more violence than is necessary for the murder-mystery designation. No more violence than Agatha Christie used. Plenty of commentary on society, however.
—Carol
This is the 4th book in Ms Winspears "Maisie Dobbs" series.I have previously read the first one, and I do think that I have possibly missed out on the evolution of the characters by coming in to this book without reading the middle 2 books.....Whilst I loved Maisies character in the first book, there was something just a little too" preachy" for my taste, hence my previous comment.In saying that,I adored the way that this story was put together and showed the after effects of WW1 on Britain. I thought it a very thought provoking scenario the way in which Hitlers antics over in Germany were casually dropped in, for people to go off and ponder in their own way.Likewise the view that was portrayed of the supposedly great "Orator" Oswald Mosley.......I like where this series is headed overall and will at some point go back and read the second and third books to seeif they will clarify or dismiss my current opinions.
—DJ
Not my favorite of the series so far in regards to the mystery but what I did love was the art angle this book took. This time, Maisie's case revolves around Nick Bassington-Hope, an artist who has died under what may be suspicious circumstances. As Maisie is investigating the death, she has to understand Nick's art, a lot of which deals with the war. It just so happens that I focused my Art History studies in college around this time period because I find it so fascinating how major events in our history are portrayed through art and how the feelings and troubles of society at the time can be told through so many different mediums- how some artists chose to portray the atrocities of war in graphic, realistic detail, while others go abstract and linear, and some others still focus on anything but war, art as propaganda, etc. Just as this time period was full of political and economical upheaval, it created shifts in the art world as well and I love the parallels between the two. So all the parts that focused on Nick's art, his subjects, and his medium- those were my favorite. A favorite passage:"With a true masterpiece, there are no words required. Discourse in rendered redundant. That's why the work of a master transcends all notions of education, of class. It rises above the onlooker's understanding of what is considered good or bad, or right and wrong in the world of art. With the artist who has achieved mastery, skill, experience and knowledge are transparent, leaving only the message for all to see." Ah, this makes me want to go back and get my Master's in Art History now or at least find some people to talk about art with.
—Valerie
