By the Book
Jacqueline Winspear Read a History of Cocaine as Research
“No one should be surprised by a writer’s library,” says the author of the Maisie Dobbs series, about a World War I battlefield nurse turned private investigator. The series’ 18th and final book is “The Comfort of Ghosts.”
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What books are on your night stand?
“War” by Sebastian Junger, “End Times” by Peter Turchin and “The Unwinding,” the fabulous book by illustrator/writer Jackie Morris. It’s my nighttime fairy tale, before I turn out the light.
Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how).
An overcast day, at home in front of a blazing fire, in one hand a big, fat book that really engages me, and in the other a mug of hot chocolate.
What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?
No one should be surprised by a writer’s library. We all read well beyond the literary forms for which we are known. However, a friend was scanning my shelves and asked, “Why do you have that book on cocaine?” Dominic Streatfeild’s “Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography” is a terrific book — I read it for background research.
What kind of reader were you as a child?
Voracious. And secretive. I had my first library ticket at age 2, and my dad (a house painter and decorator) would often bring home books abandoned in empty homes he was working on, so we had an eclectic mix around the house. Sometimes my mother would comment, “I think that book will mean more to you when you’re older, love.”
How have your reading tastes changed over time?
I used to go through phases when I would dive into everything by one author. I read anything that piques my curiosity, though whereas once I would continue to the bitter end even if I was losing interest, now I bail out sooner unless a book has me firmly in its clutches.
When you published a stand-alone after your 17th Maisie Dobbs novel, did you think you were done with the series?
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