10. Maisie often uses her training as a psychologist to take decisive control of a situation. Nevertheless, she sometimes experiences social situations in which she feels a lack of control. What are some of these situations, and why does she find them daunting?
11. The daughter of a costermonger, Maisie has risen somewhat above the limitations often encountered by members of her class. However, issues pertaining to class persist in the novel. Compare Jacqueline Winspear’s treatment of aristocratic characters like Sir Cecil Lawton and Priscilla Evernden with her rendering of characters like Billy Beale and Lady Rowan’s servants.
12. Maisie, who gives such extraordinary courage and support to others, must continually battle an inner sense of her own inadequacy. What are the sources of this feeling, and does she triumph over it?
13. Maisie knows a great deal about comforting others. Consider, however, the persons from whom she derives comfort. Do they have anything in common? To whom does she turn for particular kinds of support, and why?
14. In Chapter 8, Maisie asks herself, “What do I believe in?” Is this question answered in the novel? Does Maisie have beliefs that either strengthen or hinder her in her work or in her life?
15. Jacqueline Winspear offers a number of detailed descriptions of her characters’ clothing. Given that Maisie is such a cerebral character, highly focused on the inner workings of the mind and heart, what may be the purpose of such external descriptions in the novel?
16. What role do Maisie’s nightmares play in the unfolding of the plot and her character?
PARDONABLE LIES. Copyright © 2005 by Jacqueline Winspear. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address Picador, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
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[email protected] Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Winspear, Jacqueline, [date]
Pardonable lies: a Maisie Dobbs novel / Jacqueline Winspear.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-0-312-42621-7
1. Dobbs, Maisie (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Women private investigators—England—London—Fiction. 3. Air pilots, Military—Family relationships—Fiction. 4. World War, 1914–1918—Missing-in-action—Fiction. 5. London (England)—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6123.I575P37 2005
823'.92—dc22
2005046388
First published in the United States by Henry Holt and Company
Jacqueline Winspear, Pardonable Lies
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