The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear: A review

In Maisie Dobbs' world, it is the autumn of 1940 and London is suffering under Hitler's vaunted blitzkrieg. Most of Europe has fallen to Germany's onslaught and Britain now stands alone in opposing them. Churchill's "few," the RAF, are doing their heroic best to counter the blitz, and, in this effort, they are being helped by many American fliers who have come to join their fight.

Back in America, the isolationists, led by people like Charles Lindberg, still hold sway. FDR, sympathetic to the British cause, does all he can to aid them, but he is unable to actually send troops.

Other Americans, particularly journalists, have also come to aid the British. Their aid is in the form of reporting events back to their country and giving their fellow Americans a bird's-eye view of what is happening under the blitz. Of course, the most famous of these was Edward R. Murrow, but in Jacqueline Winspear's telling, there is also a young woman journalist called Catherine Saxon. She will figure prominently in this story.

The American ambassador in London, Joseph Kennedy, is an isolationist with an affinity for the German cause. In time we learn that there is an American agent working directly for the president who is keeping an eye on Kennedy's activities. This agent is named Mark Scott and he is known to Maisie. She met him in Munich when she was sent there on special assignment by her government.

Maisie and her best friend, Priscilla, both of whom were nurses in France during the first world war, are now volunteering as ambulance drivers in London and they make their way around bombed out buildings and streets to retrieve the injured and deliver them to hospitals.

Meanwhile, Maisie also continues her efforts to adopt the little girl, Anna, whom she took in after she was orphaned in the previous book.

Against that background, Maisie is contacted by her friend from British intelligence, Robert MacFarland, and requested to work a murder case. It seems that the young American journalist, Catherine Saxon, has been found dead in her flat, a murder victim. Since she was an American, Maisie is asked to work the investigation with Mark Scott as a representative of the American embassy.

The investigation quickly becomes entangled in American politics (Catherine's father is an isolationist senator and her older brother is an aspiring politician) and in the propaganda efforts to sway American opinion. Maisie is suspicious of Mark Scott's role in the investigation but at the same time feels herself attracted to him.

Winspear's descriptions of London under the Blitz and of the bravery and stoicism of ordinary people were particularly strong parts of her narrative. Moreover, the death of Saxon was an intriguing mystery that had a rather unexpected conclusion. The plot was well executed and the characters were mostly likable people that we wanted to see survive and do well.

One thing that irks me about these novels is the dialogue. It always seems stilted. But what do I know? Maybe that is actually the way people talked then. Overall, this latest entry was one of the strongest in the series and one of my favorites.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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