“A Lesson in Secrets” - Jacqueline Winspear

 (Maisie Dobbs book 8)

📚ALS charts the rise of fascism among the wealthy and highly placed British aristocracy. The climate brought to mind the views of the Mitford sisters. By contrast, the average Brit was more concerned with putting food on the table than getting carried off by Anglo-Saxon (or Teutonic in the case of H*tler super fan Unity Mitford) mania.

📚I enjoyed reading about women engaged in espionage - very Verity Kent - during WWI when able men were called to the front lines and women stepped up to fill vital roles. Speaking of, it did surprise me that with her Maurice Blanche connections, that Maisie joined the front as a nurse and wasn’t recruited by clandestine services right off the bat.

📚 ALS made me think of the near-kinship that may have arisen from time-to-time among the boys on the front lines in opposing trenches, some mere yards apart. Winspear portrays the result of being placed in similarly bleak circumstances though on opposite sides of a battle. In fact, they share a bond that isn’t shareable with brethren at home who don’t possibly know the true nature of the front lines as a result of careful censorship and propaganda on both sides.

📚ALS isn’t among my favorites in this series, however it does have an important role to play. First, it sets up key historical and political developments as the world moves toward WWII. Second, ALS introduces both new characters (dare I say frenemies?) and a new aspect of Maisie’s investigatory work that will reassert itself in future novels.