The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

 

Having enjoyed so many of the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear (especially the earliest ones concerning The Great War), I was immediately interested in The White Lady as a standalone and new character.  

In 1914, after her father left to enlist, Elinor, her mother, and her sister were supposed to leave Belgium for England.  Elinor's mother was English and the girls had dual citizenship.  It should have been easy, but as is often the case, people don't realize the danger soon enough. Charlotte, Cecily, and Elinor were unable to escape occupied Belgium,

This is not where the novel begins, however.  The story opens in 1947, only a couple of years after the end of WWII, but "the White Lady's" story begins in 1914 and moves through two World Wars and the aftermath.

In 1947, Elinor White is living in a "grace and favor cottage" bestowed by the crown for Elinor's life time, for her contributions to the war.  She keeps to herself, neither friendly nor unfriendly, until the small child of a neighbor's catches her attention and interest. The neighbors, Jim, Rose, and young Susie Mackie have moved to the country from London to escape Jim's family who are criminal overlords in London.

When Elinor sees Rose crying and hears the family argument that seems to have turned violent in the Mackie cottage, she is determined to protect them from Jim's family.

And Elinor has the means to do just that.  She's already researched their background and knows the danger the Mackie clan can represent.  Most men would be frightened of interfering with the Mackies; most women wouldn't even dream of it.  Elinor is not most women.  As a child in Belgium during the first war, Elinor and her sister Cecily were enlisted in the resistance by "Isabelle."  They knew that was not her name, but they were eager to do what they could.  By the time Elinor was 12, she was already on her way to becoming quite the skilled saboteur.  

As the story moves forward in 1947, Elinor's memories of both world wars are revealed gradually.  

In 1941, Elinor was teaching in England and resisted joining the SOE (Special Operations Unit), but finally gave in, partly because the woman who recruited her was "Isabelle," now known by her real name, Commander Claire Fields.  The purpose of the SOE was to provide support to resisters in occupied countries and to wage a clandestine war by sabotaging equipment and disrupting the enemy in as many ways as possible.  Elinor already had experience as a child saboteur in Belgium, but she learned and experienced more with the SOE. 

Her background gives Elinor the confidence to go up against the Mackie family, and she knows who she will call on first.  What she doesn't know is how this  involvement will affect her life through connections to the past.

The White Lady is a well-written, compelling tale covering two World Wars and the immediate time period right after the end of WWII, the courage and resilience of ordinary people, and the energy and tenacity of one particular woman.

For those who love good historical fiction, Jacqueline Winspear has done it again.

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If you are interested in the role of the SOE during WWII, you might try Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945 by Leo Marks.  This nonfiction account is fascinating and relevant to some of what occurs in The White Lady.