Maisie Dobbs

Although Jacqueline Winspear never intended for this to be the first of a series, there are now 15 books based on "Maisie Dobbs." Winspear was born in Kent and later emigrated to the U.S. Many of her books are partially set in Kent and she paints a warm and loving picture of the countryside. This is a wonderful series and you must really start from the beginning to get a good picture of how Maisie came to be. Maisie was born the daughter of a costermonger, someone who sells their wares from a barrow or cart. She lost her mother while still young and she and her father have struggled to make ends meet ever since. Her father, known as Frankie, decides to ask at the home of one of his wealthier customers (he sells fresh produce) if they might have room to take Maisie on as a lower level maid. He knows Maisie is smart and he and his wife had originally planned to send Maisie on for an education, so father and daughter are both disappointed but realistic about how Maisie will make her way in the world. However, Maisie's curiosity is insatiable and she gets up in the middle of the night to sneak into the manor house's library and read philosophy. When she is discovered in her clandestine pursuit by the late night homecoming of Lady and Lord Compton, she is sure she will be let go. But Lady Rowan Compton has been encouraged by a family friend, Maurice Blanche, to do more than protest for the rights of women and the poor; she decides, in consultation with Maurice, to have Maurice tutor Maisie and prepare her for college. And they succeed. But just as Maisie is starting at Girton (Cambridge's college for women), WWI is starting and Maisie, feeling compelled to do something to aid soldiers, decides to lie about her age so she can be trained as a nurse, first at a hospital in London, and then she is sent to France. All this we learn in a flashback.
The main thread of the story is set in 1929 London and Maisie is just opening her own business as a psychologist/ private investigator. She has apprenticed for several years with her mentor, Maurice, who has now retired and turned the business over to her. Clients are reluctant about dealing with a woman in such a position, but Maurice's and Lady Rowan's standing in society buys Maisie an introduction and Maisie subsequently convinces people with her own actions. What starts out looking like an inquiry into possible infidelity quickly evolves into an investigation into a "Retreat" that ostensibly provides a haven for injured (physically or mentally) veterans. The wife in question is actually visiting the grave of a man who once stayed there; coincidentally, Lady Rowan's son is considering surrendering his fortune--for that is the requirement--in order to live there as well. So Maisie is doubly motivated to find out whether this is a legitimate enterprise or a scam. She contrives to have the handyman in her office building, Billy Beale, admitted to the Retreat to check it out. Not only does Maisie come face to face with the physical and psychological damage that was wrought on a generation of young men--and some young women such as herself--but it re-opens a painful loss in Maisie's life. Compelling characters, interesting plot, vivid settings, and observations of the changing status of women initiated by the war all make for an engaging read.
Good reviews of Maisie Dobbs : NPR, Publishers Weekly; and lukewarm reviews: Kirkus.