Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another wonderful story from Jacqueline Winspear. Although #4 in the Maisie Dobbs series, the book is perfectly able to stand alone. The only book in the series that I feel should be read in sequence, is the first one: Maisie Dobbs.
Shelved as a detective novel in my local library, Messenger of Truth is also a book that covers historical and social aspects of the the time between the Great War and the Second World War. Taking place in 1931, the great depression (1929-1939) is documented here with empathy and sadness. In regard to another novel I read recently, White Houses by Amy Bloom, the great depression in the United States of America is also, albeit briefly, shown in the light of returned service men and women suffering inhumanity and cruelty at the hands of the government. However, I found Messenger of Truth to be more gritty and stronger than Amy Bloom’s book. Winspear addresses the minutiae of life in the historical context. She shows the clothes, the food, the decor – all in focus.
I have to say, I have learned a lot from Maisie Dobbs – about all sorts of things.
I still have a couple of books in the Maisie Dobbs series before I catch up with the latest one.
thoughts and memories 