Born into a working-class family, Maisie began as a maid in an aristocratic London mansion at age 13. Her thirst for knowledge was discovered by her employer, Lady Rowan Compton , who became her patron and introduced her to Dr. Maurice Blanche , a renowned investigator and scholar who became her mentor.
Maisie's journey is one of remarkable upward mobility and personal growth:
Her studies at Girton College, Cambridge, were interrupted by World War I. She served as a battlefield nurse in France, witnessing the horrors of the front lines—an experience that left her with lasting emotional scars and trauma.