Helpful Score: 3
Excellent new addition to the series! The Great Depression is taking hold of London, and there is an undercurrent of unrest amongst the war veterans who have been forgotten. Maisie Dobbs is called in to assist Scotland Yard when she witnesses a man, a fellow war veteran, blow himself up in a public place. This series has been wonderful to read, and I can't wait for the next one to come out!
Helpful Score: 2
First Line: Maisie Dobbs, Psychologist and Investigator, picked up her fountain pen to sign her name at the end of a final report that she and her associate, Billy Beale, had worked late to complete the night before.
It is Christmas Eve, 1931, in London, and Maisie Dobbs is walking down a city street. She sees a dirty, physically handicapped man sitting on the pavement, and there's something about the look on his face that makes her walk toward him to see if she can help.
The man detonates a bomb, killing himself and slightly wounding several others--including Maisie. In no time at all Maisie finds herself working with a special team out of Scotland Yard to discover the identity of a man who's sending very threatening letters to the Prime Minister. In a city filled with veterans of World War I who have been mentally disabled by their service but put out of hospitals with no pensions and no hopes of employment, Maisie is looking for a needle in a haystack. Somehow she manages to piece together a profile of the man sending the letters, but will they be able to find him before he carries out his threat?
The only writer outside of Jacqueline Winspear who I've found capable of putting me body and soul into this time period is Lyn Macdonald. Among the Mad can oftentimes be an upsetting book to read as Winspear describes a government which was completely comfortable using an entire generation of men as nothing but cannon fodder and then denying them the help, the employment and the pensions they so desperately needed--and earned. To a government that would say doing so would bankrupt the country, I would reply: hadn't the killing and maiming of hundreds of thousands of men already achieved that? As you can see, this book touched a nerve because history just keeps on repeating itself.
The time period isn't the real reason why I love these books, however. In fact, I have a friend who is also hooked on this series, and she doesn't care for the time period at all. You see, we both love Maisie Dobbs. In Among the Mad, the man writing those threatening letters explains it best:
"She showed care. That is all I have asked for, these many years, that people are concerned, and that in their actions, they demonstrate care. It occurred to me that the woman did not wait for someone else to approach Ian. She did not ignore him. She walked toward him without looking in another direction. I noticed that. I have come to notice that people do not look at the Ians of this world, but instead turn their heads here and there."
If you want to be immersed in another time, read Winspear's series. If you want to solve intriguing mysteries, read Winspear's series. If you want to read about a woman who cares deeply...read Winspear's series.
It is Christmas Eve, 1931, in London, and Maisie Dobbs is walking down a city street. She sees a dirty, physically handicapped man sitting on the pavement, and there's something about the look on his face that makes her walk toward him to see if she can help.
The man detonates a bomb, killing himself and slightly wounding several others--including Maisie. In no time at all Maisie finds herself working with a special team out of Scotland Yard to discover the identity of a man who's sending very threatening letters to the Prime Minister. In a city filled with veterans of World War I who have been mentally disabled by their service but put out of hospitals with no pensions and no hopes of employment, Maisie is looking for a needle in a haystack. Somehow she manages to piece together a profile of the man sending the letters, but will they be able to find him before he carries out his threat?
The only writer outside of Jacqueline Winspear who I've found capable of putting me body and soul into this time period is Lyn Macdonald. Among the Mad can oftentimes be an upsetting book to read as Winspear describes a government which was completely comfortable using an entire generation of men as nothing but cannon fodder and then denying them the help, the employment and the pensions they so desperately needed--and earned. To a government that would say doing so would bankrupt the country, I would reply: hadn't the killing and maiming of hundreds of thousands of men already achieved that? As you can see, this book touched a nerve because history just keeps on repeating itself.
The time period isn't the real reason why I love these books, however. In fact, I have a friend who is also hooked on this series, and she doesn't care for the time period at all. You see, we both love Maisie Dobbs. In Among the Mad, the man writing those threatening letters explains it best:
"She showed care. That is all I have asked for, these many years, that people are concerned, and that in their actions, they demonstrate care. It occurred to me that the woman did not wait for someone else to approach Ian. She did not ignore him. She walked toward him without looking in another direction. I noticed that. I have come to notice that people do not look at the Ians of this world, but instead turn their heads here and there."
If you want to be immersed in another time, read Winspear's series. If you want to solve intriguing mysteries, read Winspear's series. If you want to read about a woman who cares deeply...read Winspear's series.
Helpful Score: 1
As you continue the Maisie Dobbs series, each book explores some aspect of the lingering results of World War I. In this book it is the plight of the wounded in body and mind and their neglect in Depression-era Britain. I don't want to reveal too many details and ruin the unraveling of the story but the plot is compelling and the personal secondary story involving Billy Beale is good also.
As always, an interesting look at post-WWI England and it's effect on those who served.
Good read, I enjoyed the historical aspects of the story.
Excellent commentary on a country's (any country's) war wounded.
Excellent commentary on a country's (any country's) war wounded.
After the end of World War I and before World War II, times are tough and there are a lot of people unemployed in London, among them are soldiers who served in France and came home wounded, many of them suffering not only from physical wounds but also many of the psychological. Shell shocked which is what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was called then. During the war, many of these men once their physical wounds were healed were sent back into fray, those suffering from shell shock were often considered lazy and malingers. The lucky few have gotten treatment of at least or hospitalized but the government is afraid of the possibility of paying out thousands of pensions and so many are on the streets. Christmas Eve 1931 and Maisie Dobbs and her assistant Bill Beale are on their way to an appointment when they witness the suicide of a man who blows himself up with a hand grenade. The next day a letter is received by the Prime Minister and threats are made and writer mentions Maisie by name. the next day Scotland Yard comes calling. Once she is cleared, she is asked by the head of Scotland Yard's Special Branch to help with the case. To complicate things further, an investigator with the military is involved and he and MacFarlane do not get along. In the meantime Billy is struggling as his wife still despondent over the death of their daughter a year earlier and ends up being hospitalized in an asylum. While Maisie is sure that the suicide was a ex-soldier, no one knows who he is. Maisie is not only a very good detective but she also could be considered an early profiler using her psychological training to be able to come up with an idea of what kind of individual in this case was making those threats. Meanwhile the letters keep coming, the death of animals from some kind of poisonous gas and the murder of a junior minister up the stakes even further and the clock is ticking on a mad man whose next move may bring the death of hundreds of people. Maisie is at her finest in this the sixth book in the series. They say history repeats itself, it's interesting to note that what was happening in England after World War I in the way that the wounded soldiers were treated is similar to what is happening in this country with our soldiers and our veterans. There are many soldiers after their physical wounds are healed are sent back into the war in Iraq and Afghanistan despite problems such as post traumatic stress disorder and concussions, Also there is a shortage of mental health personnel for active duty and veterans and many veterans who have PTSD get denied benefits routinely and in the war those that have mental problems are often seen by the higher ups as malingerers. Just as England treated their veterans shabbily, we are doing the same thing today. History does repeat itself and we should be ashamed of ourselves.
Larraine F. (phillyartlovesbooks) reviewed Among the Mad (Maisie Dobbs, Bk 6) on + 59 more book reviews
Continuing in my "catch up" mode, I just finished this book which was really really engrossing and very interesting. Maisie sees a man commit suicide on the street by setting off an explosion. Her intuition tells her she is about to do something, when he sets off the explosion. She is thrown back and suffers a concussion. Not long after she is contacted by Scotland Yard after they receive a letter threatening to kill a large number of people and mentioning her name. Soon MI-5 is involved although a member introduces himself as Military Intelligence Section 5. The time is December 1931 and January 1932. The letter writer is a WWI veteran. The economic times are grim, and many people are out of work. The government has awarded pensions to some veterans, but many others are literally scraping by. There are hospitals still full of veterans who are mentally unable to be on their own.
There is also a sub story involving Maisie's employee, Billy and his wife, Doreen. In a later book, I read about her having a mental breakdown after the death of her little girl. However, the later books talked about her slowly regaining her sanity. In this book she is at the height of her depression, screaming at her two boys not to touch the gifts for their sister that are under the tree, not giving the boys the love and attention she needs as well as not keeping herself and her home clean and presentable. When she cuts herself with a knife, Billy calls the doctor who sends an ambulance to pick her up and take her to a mental institution. Unfortunately, their methods are old fashioned and even dangerous. Billy is concerned. Maisie intervenes and uses her contacts to get her into a more up to date hospital.
As always, this is a lot more complicated than it seems from the outside. It's really excellent. I've read nearly everyone in the series now. Some are better than others. This is one of the better ones in my opinion.
There is also a sub story involving Maisie's employee, Billy and his wife, Doreen. In a later book, I read about her having a mental breakdown after the death of her little girl. However, the later books talked about her slowly regaining her sanity. In this book she is at the height of her depression, screaming at her two boys not to touch the gifts for their sister that are under the tree, not giving the boys the love and attention she needs as well as not keeping herself and her home clean and presentable. When she cuts herself with a knife, Billy calls the doctor who sends an ambulance to pick her up and take her to a mental institution. Unfortunately, their methods are old fashioned and even dangerous. Billy is concerned. Maisie intervenes and uses her contacts to get her into a more up to date hospital.
As always, this is a lot more complicated than it seems from the outside. It's really excellent. I've read nearly everyone in the series now. Some are better than others. This is one of the better ones in my opinion.
Another wonderful Maisie Dobbs book.
Christmas Eve, 1931. On the way to see a client, Maisie Dobbs witnesses a man commit suicide on a busy London street. The following day, the Prime Ministers office receives a letter threatening a massive loss of life if certain demands are not met--and the writer mentions Maisie by name. Tapped by Scotland Yards elite Special Branch to be a special adviser on the case, Maisie is soon involved in a race against time to find a man who proves he has the knowledge and will to inflict destruction on thousands of innocent people.
Christmas Eve, 1931. On the way to see a client, Maisie Dobbs witnesses a man commit suicide on a busy London street. The following day, the Prime Ministers office receives a letter threatening a massive loss of life if certain demands are not met--and the writer mentions Maisie by name. Tapped by Scotland Yards elite Special Branch to be a special adviser on the case, Maisie is soon involved in a race against time to find a man who proves he has the knowledge and will to inflict destruction on thousands of innocent people.
Another great mystery for Maisie Dobbs!
I really enjoy this series. However, while a review on the book DJ calls this the best one yet, it happens to be the one I enjoyed the least. I'm not sure why.
