I knew my father had a job that took him from place to place around the country before he joined the army, but I didn’t really know the details until his last weeks. But having run though burning bomb-sites during the early part of the Blitz, he must have been relieved when he began an apprenticeship later in 1940, soon after he turned fourteen-the age at which you started full-time work in those days. The ARP men went around to the schools, picking out the best sprinters for the job-and Dad was the fastest runner in the school. Dad was fourteen in 1940, but had left school earlier because he was tapped to be a “runner” between ARP (Air Raid Precautions) and military posts in south London. The main story underpinning TO DIE BUT ONCE-that of the young apprentice-was inspired by my father’s experiences during the early part of the war. Maisie has seen the lad grow up and has always liked his sunny disposition-so she is determined to find out what has been happening to him. They are particularly concerned because he’s been suffering pounding headaches.

His parents have become worried because he seems not to be his usual self-and he’s missed a promised telephone call to let them know he’s well.

The lad is apprenticed to a firm of painters and decorators that has landed a big government contract to paint the buildings on airfields throughout Britain with fire retardant, and the young man is part of a crew of workmen going from one military airfield to the next, staying in lodgings along the way. But as the story opens, another young man-the 15-year-old son of a local pub landlord-becomes the focus of Maisie’s concerns. The British expeditionary force-with Billy Beale’s son among them-is at great risk on the other side of the English Channel, and Maisie’s friend Priscilla is worried about her son, who has joined the RAF. I’ll have the full details soon, and will post dates and event locations on my Facebook page as well as on my website and indeed in my next newsletter. May your days be filled with joy, peace, contentment, love and good health-and anything else on your dream list!Īs soon as January rolls around, the final countdown to publication of a new novel in the Maisie Dobbs’ series begins. TO DIE BUT ONCE will be published on March 27th this year, with the accompanying book tour kicking off in Houston on March 26th. As this is my first newsletter of the year, I would like to wish you all the very best in 2018.

Maisie dobbs to die but once