Book Alert / An Incomplete Revenge

An Incomplete Revenge -- A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear, Holt '08, $24, 306 pages, ISBN #0-8050-8215-8.

In recent years, readers have shown increasing interest in both fictional and nonfiction narratives about the period between the two world wars, when the legacy of the First World War came to foreshadow the cataclysm ahead. Which may help account for the popularity of Jacqueline Winspear's five Maisie Dobbs novels, set as they are during this historical period. Her latest is set in the British village of Kent during hop-picking season and involves mysterious fires erupting throughout the village, leading Maisie to seek their underlying cause. In a brief interview, Winspear talks about the interwar era and its importance:

Q. Scholars argue that World War I and the inter-war period do not receive as much attention as they should. How do you think the Maisie Dobbs series adds to the seemingly neglected dialogue concerning World War I?

A. Personally, I think there's a lot of material out there on the time between the wars, but much of it tends to paint a black and white picture -- it's either the roaring twenties or the dark depression. In my novels, I like to look at the gray areas, to delve into the black and white to see something of what is true for the average -- or not so average -- person.

Q. We learn a little bit about gypsy culture in this novel, and you managed to dispel a lot of false stereotypes of gypsies. What did you find most intriguing about gypsies in your research?

A. My 'research' has been both formal (via books etc.) and informal, through conversations with people who have an intimate knowledge of gypsy communities in past times. Indeed, when I was a child, growing up in Kent, I played with gypsy children who came to the local farms during the summer. Frankly, the most interesting thing is something that didn't have any impact on the novel, nor was it mentioned in any way, and that is that gypsies the world over have descended from India, with the gypsy language having its roots in Sanskrit.