Mr. Churchill's Secretary

Maggie Hope, born in England but raised in the U.S., finds herself in London on the eve of the Battle of Britain.  Although she’s a mathematical genius with an Ivy League education, Maggie is unable to find a job that uses her skill set, and instead accepts a position as typist in the office of Prime Minister Churchill.  But she is soon drawn into a web of espionage that involves German spies, Irish terrorists, and some people who are very close to her.

 

This book is an exciting thriller, but it is even more impressive as a work of historical fiction.  The author is profoundly alert to the nuances of daily life as experienced by people of the day: the constant stress of unrelenting air raids; the smell of musty clothing and unwashed bodies resulting from fuel rationing; a boring diet anchored by bad tea and really bad coffee;  but also a sense of wearily stubborn optimism that allowed the British people to, in the words of their prime minister, Keep Plodding On.