Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal

(56. - 1239.) Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal - Maggie Hope reluctantly agrees to become one of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s typing secretaries in May of 1940. She resents being denied a “private secretary” position because she is a woman. They are “traditionally held by young Oxbridge men from upper class families”. Being a “Wellesley graduate, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, fluent in German and English, about to start working toward a doctoral degree in mathematics from M.I.T.” are not enough credentials for a woman in 1940.

In the shadows of London, Mike Murphy from the I.R.A. is causing chaos setting off bombs. The latest was in a rubbish bin at a London Underground Station.

When one of the typing secretaries, Mrs. Tingsley, is sick, Miss Hope is called into the breach to take dictation from the Prime Minister after dinner. Churchill entered the room, never looked at her and began to dictate letters that she typed as he spoke:

She became almost hypnotized, engrossed in her task as he went on and on - she imagined herself not as a typist but as an extension of him, a link between himself and the page. They went on in this manner, with various letters, for almost an hour before he finally looked at her.

Realizing she was not Mrs. Tinsley, he assessed her carefully and said “[W]e need some hope in this office” and that she could stay.

On subsequent nights he roars disapproval at mistakes such as single instead of double spacing and misspelled or misunderstood words. Occasionally he kicks the wastebasket across the room. Unexpectedly for Churchill, she stands up to him and earns a modest acknowledgement from him that he has been overbearing.  

The fear of spies and saboteurs is intense. There is reason to fear disruptions.

Maggie participates in the typing of multiple drafts of some of Churchill’s most famous speeches.

The waiting for the Blitz to start is excruciating. The work at the Prime Minister’s Office goes on day and night.

The Blitz causes horrific damage. As in Germania life goes on in London. Maggie helps organize a birthday party. Rations are saved for a month to make a birthday cake.

Londoners “went on as though they were people in one of those classic English plays - always polite, terribly formal, occasionally stiff”.

There is a credible ingenious Nazi plot that actually could have changed the war had it succeeded.

A message is sent to Germany via Norway through dots and dashes embedded in a women’s clothing ad.

The drama comes from reading how it was thwarted. As the plot unfolds Maggie is dismayed by who is treacherous.

Through the book there are references to Maggie having some mysterious unknown family connections. Maggie ends up shaken by family revelations.

The resolution shifts into high Hollywood mode. Until the conclusion Mr. Churchill’s Secretary had been a very interesting book. The theatrics were unnecessary. 

Maggie is not an action hero. She is an excellent character of great intellect. She is not cut out to save the world. I was reminded of Maisie Dobbs until the ending. Maisie solved mysteries without mayhem in almost all her books. Maisie’s most powerful weapon was her mind. I wondered if the conclusion was MacNeal’s choice.

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary is a good book. I am going to read more in the series.