Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in Kent, England. After graduating from the University of London's Institute of Education, she worked in academic publishing, higher education, and marketing communications. She emigrated to the United States in 1990. She has written fifteen novels in the New York Times bestselling Maisie Dobbs series, which has won numerous awards, including the Agatha, Macavity, and Alex. Her standalone novel about the Great War, The Care and Management of Lies, was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. She lives in California.
A 2021 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Critical/Biographical
Fall 2021 ABA Indie Next Reading Group Selection
An IndieNext Selection for November 2020
A LibraryReads Selection for November 2020
Praise for This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing
“The author of the Maisie Dobbs series of cozy British mysteries
picked hops as a young girl to help support her family, which
struggled to subsist in the hardscrabble landscape of rural Kent.
This childhood memoir, though frank in its details of postwar
privation, is at heart a love story—her parents’ love for each
other, and hers for them and the meaningful life they gave
her.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“The best-selling author of the Maisie Dobbs mystery series pulls
back the curtain on her hardscrabble postwar childhood in rural
Kent, England, in which bitter poverty was offset by good cheer and
family love.”
—The New York Times
“I fell in love with Jackie Winspear almost at once, right there on
Page 24 of her engaging, amusing and moving memoir of growing up in
the post-World War II English countryside . . . You don’t have to
be a boomer or have had a mirror experience to get pulled into the
world Winspear re-creates. It’s a world both nostalgic and soberly
realistic, full of crystalline descriptions of the Kentish
countryside and the now long-gone hop gardens that once flourished
there.”
—The Washington Post
“The book is heartfelt and humorous, poignant and frank, and — as
with the Maisie Dobbs books — beautifully written.”
—Buzzfeed
“A lovely memoir whether you are a fan of Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs
mysteries or not. This is her personal account of her English
childhood, including the harrowing stories and trauma of the second
world war on her grandparents and parents, and her young life
living on farms around Kent.”
—Book Riot
“Evocative . . . Walking with her through this complex thicket of
rumination and reminiscence offers readers a chance to understand
more about the writing process, while revealing details of a family
heritage well worth recording.”
—Bookreporter.com
“As we have seen in her Maisie Dobbs series, Winspear's talent as a
writer shines in her attention to detail and expert depictions of
the emotional impact of war.”
—AudioFile Magazine
“Has there been another title this fitting to the moment released
this year? I doubt it . . . An extraordinary story of a childhood
that spanned huge changes in society and a family grappling with
the world lurching ahead. It was the perfect read for this
year.”
—The Secret Library Podcast
“Jacqueline Winspear has created a memoir of her English childhood
that is every bit as engaging as her Maisie Dobbs novels, just as
rich in character and detail, history and humanity. Her writing is
lovely, elegant and welcoming.”
—Anne Lamott, New York Times bestselling author of Almost
Everything: Notes on Hope
“Jacqueline Winspear's memoir takes the reader through the
early and adolescent years of the author's life as well as the
history of her parents' young marriage in a fashion that is
simultaneously endearing, touching, amusing, heartfelt, and
astonishing . . . It's a love letter and a beautiful work of
gratitude toward the people and the place that made the author what
and who she is.”
—Elizabeth George, New York Times bestselling author of the
Inspector Lynley novels
“A beautifully rendered, elegant work of literary architecture
joining the present to the past. Jacqueline Winspear's memoir
of an English country childhood is also an homage to the remarkable
parents whose choices and outlooks shaped her. Their stories of
hardship and gratitude became hers, and hers became this
unforgettable book.”
—Hope Edelman, New York Times bestselling author of Motherless
Daughters and The Aftergrief
“This is a memoir both evocative and unflinching. Without a trace
of self-pity, Jacqueline Winspear portrays a childhood of rural
poverty overcome by hard manual labor, lifelong love amid emotional
wounds, and a profound understanding of how 'the gift of place'
creates meaning . . . An illuminating portrait of a time and place
that is as optimistic as it is deeply moving.”
—Sally Bedell Smith, author of Prince Charles: The Passions and
Paradoxes of an Improbable Life
“[Winspear's] words are hopeful and bright, and imbued with a
resilience that will resonate with readers . . . The book will
appeal well beyond Winspear’s fan base as a literary memoir deeply
linked to history and as a meditation on place and
family.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review
“[Winspear] draws distinctive portraits of postwar England,
altogether different from the U.S., where she has since settled,
and her unsettling struggles within the rigid British class system.
An engaging childhood memoir and a deeply affectionate tribute to
the author’s parents.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“Though she was born in 1955, [Winspear] provides a visceral
portrait of London during WWII and the hardships and cultural
changes that shaped England in the decades that followed . .
. [An] elegantly executed memoir.”
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Maisie Dobbs
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Agatha Award Winner for Best First Novel
Macavity Award Winner for Best First Novel
Alex Award Winner
“Compelling . . . powerful. [Maisie Dobbs] testifies to the
enduring allure of the traditional mystery . . . even though I knew
what was coming this second time 'round, its final scene is still a
punch in the gut.”
—Maureen Corrigan for NPR’s Fresh Air
"[A] deft debut novel . . . Romantic readers sensing a
story-within-a-story won't be disappointed. But first they must be
prepared to be astonished at the sensitivity and wisdom with which
Maisie resolves her first professional assignment."
—The New York Times
"The reader familiar with Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies
Detective Agency . . . might think of Maisie Dobbs as its British
counterpart . . . [Winspear] has created a winning character about
whom readers will want to read more."
—Associated Press
"[Maisie Dobbs] catches the sorrow of a lost generation in the
character of one exceptional woman."
—Chicago Tribune
"One of the best and most influential crime novels of the young
century."
—Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
“A fine new sleuth for the twenty-first century. Simultaneously
self-reliant and vulnerable, Maisie isn't a character I'll easily
forget.”
—Elizabeth George, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of the
Inspector Lynley series
“The book is much more than a cosy mystery—it is also about women's
growing emancipation and the profound changes to society after the
First World War.”
—Mail on Sunday
“A delightful mix of mystery, war story and romance set in WWI–era
England . . . A refreshing heroine, appealing secondary characters
and an absorbing plot [make Winspear a] writer to watch.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“A poignant and compelling story . . . [Winspear handles] human
drama with compassionate sensitivity while skillfully avoiding
cloying sentimentality. At the end, the reader is left yearning for
more. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review
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