MAY 2023 READING LIST
A diverging school schedule and my enlistment into a 10-week civic engagement workshop commandeered most of my time during the spring. A steady stream of books from a series kept me going for a while. Listening to a classic was also helpful with my reading goal while I transported two kids to two different schools, two different practices, and two different playdates.
Here are the books that I was able to squeeze in during the busy month of May:
MESSENGER OF TRUTH BY JACQUELINE WINSPEAR
London, 1931. On the night before the opening of his new and much-anticipated exhibition at a famed Mayfair gallery, Nicholas Bassington-Hope falls to his death. The police declare the fall an accident, but the dead man's twin sister, Georgina, isn't convinced. When the authorities refuse to conduct further investigations and close the case, Georgina - a journalist and infamous figure in her own right - takes matters into her own hands, seeking out a fellow graduate from Girton College: Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator.
The case soon takes Maisie to the desolate beaches of Dungeness in Kent, as well as the sinister underbelly of the city's art world. And while navigating her way into the heart of the aristocratic yet bohemian Bassington-Hopes, Maisie is deeply troubled by the tragedy of another, quite different family in need.
This was by far the best book of the Maisie Dobbs series so far. Right at the beginning the POV is different and gives a sort of prologue before Maisie is hired. Another difference with this book was that Winspear did well with her twists and turns and omissions that left me wondering who the killer was right until the moment it was revealed.
Reading about the art world, both the gallery and the black market end an intriguing part of the story and began to give me the first sense that something ominous is on the horizon with the removal of art from Germany. The subplot was done well to make me think that it was part of the main plot and gave me enough perplexity that I was desirous to finish the book.
I especially like the ending with the disclosure of the ‘triptych’ and how it brought the whole story together even with the unfortunate conclusion for some of the characters.
*I learned a bit about the art world from this book, both the historical speculation of how many people moved priceless art out of Germany before WWII and an idea of an artist’s process and the many moving parts in the art business.
LADY AUDLEY’S SECRET BY MARY ELIZABETH BRADDON
Weathering critical scorn, Lady Audley's Secret quickly established Mary Elizabeth Braddon as the leading light of Victorian 'sensation' fiction, sharing the honour only with Wilkie Collins. Addictive, cunningly plotted and certainly sensational, Lady Audley's Secret draws on contemporary theories of insanity to probe mid-Victorian anxieties about the rapid rise of consumer culture. What is the mystery surrounding the charming heroine? Lady Audley's secret is investigated by Robert Audley, aristocrat turned detective, in a novel that has lost none of its power to disturb and entertain.
I like to listen to classic literature. The pace is mellow and the language is wonderfully rich to listen to. In my search for a book, I found Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Part classic, part mystery, I was intrigued at first to know what the secret was and how the story would play out.
Part way through I realized that Braddon’s inclination toward “sensationalism” was evident. If the book were a movie, each actor would play their part to full frantic effect and it was a little tiring to keep up my interest in the drama. Even so, I am glad I stuck with it and discovered the truth of the mystery.
FOOTNOTE - I learned from this book was the period of ‘sensational’ writing. Austen mocks the gothic proclivity in writing during the time and Braddon feeds on the hunger for overdramatized reading.
AN INCOMPLETE REVENGE BY JACQUELINE WINSPEAR
With the country in the grip of economic malaise, and worried about her business, Maisie Dobbs is relieved to accept an apparently straightforward assignment from an old friend to investigate certain matters concerning a potential land purchase. Her inquiries take her to a picturesque village in Kent during the hop-picking season, but beneath its pastoral surface, she finds evidence that something is amiss. Mysterious fires erupt in the village with alarming regularity, and a series of petty crimes suggests a darker criminal element at work. As Maisie discovers, the villagers are bitterly prejudiced against outsiders who flock to Kent at harvest time—even more troubling, they seem possessed by the legacy of a wartime Zeppelin raid. Maisie grows increasingly suspicious of a peculiar secrecy that shrouds the village, and ultimately she must draw on all her finely honed skills of detection to solve one of her most intriguing cases.
There is a mystery throughout this book, not just of murder, but what fear and war can do to otherwise a hospitable neighborhood. The paralysis of fear and impulsivity are a dangerous combination.
I did not mind the veering off of in this story where Maisie was in contact with the gypsy camp. It brought out more of her history, painting more of her backstory and also began her process of letting go of the past.
I enjoyed the book although I am beginning to tire of the constant recaps that filter through the story. I am sure Winspear does this so each book can be a stand-alone book, in essence. Even so, the redundancy is getting a bit tiring and would like to see those paragraphs filled with more of the present story.
FOOTNOTE - I learned from this book how devastating the Zepplin raids were and how something gentle looking like a balloon could bring so much pain and suffering.
