Who Is Maud Dixon?

Who is Maud Dixon? (2022) is a thriller novel by Alexandra Andrews. The novel follows Florence Darrow, who becomes the personal assistant of Helen Wilcox, a writer who publishes under the pseudonym of the reclusive author Maud Dixon. Florence travels with Helen to Morocco to conduct research for Helen’s new novel, only for a tragic accident to occur that presents Florence with the dilemma of whether to take Helen’s identity as her own. The novel explores themes about The Dark Side of Ambition, The Complexities of Personal Identity and Reinvention, and The Tension Between Fiction and Reality. Andrews was a journalist and an editor before writing Who is Maud Dixon?, and she uses her experience in publishing to provide context for the novel.

This guide uses the 2022 Back Bay Books print edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide contain references to murder, substance misuse, and psychological manipulation.

Plot Summary

Florence Darrow is an editorial assistant at Forrester Books in New York City. Florence dreams of becoming a writer like the popular novelist Maud Dixon, who wrote Mississippi Foxtrot, but has trouble getting published. Forrester Books fires Florence because she extorts one of the editors, after he refuses to publish her work. A few weeks later, a publishing agent named Greta Frost interviews Florence to become Maud Dixon’s assistant. Florence gets the job and discovers that Maud Dixon is a pseudonym for Helen Wilcox. Helen lives in Cairo, New York, and Florence moves into her carriage house.

One day, Florence runs into a neighbor who mentions that Helen had a visitor several months before. When Florence mentions the visitor to Helen, she denies anyone staying with her. A few days later, a police officer arrives at the house, but Helen says that he wanted to talk to her about her speeding tickets. The next day, Helen suggests that they should travel to Semat, Morocco, to conduct research for her next novel. Florence and Helen arrive in Morocco. One night, Helen suggests that they visit a restaurant, and Florence drives them up a winding road to the restaurant. Helen orders them drinks, and Florence loses consciousness.

When Florence wakes up, she is in a hospital, and the nurses call her Helen Wilcox. A police officer named Hamid Idrissi tells Florence that she was in a car accident. A local fisherman saw her car fly off the road and hit the water below, and he dove in to save her. Florence learns that Helen’s passport was found on her body, and that no one else was in the car with her. Florence assumes that she must have driven drunk and killed Helen, but that Helen’s body washed away. As Florence recovers, she decides to assume Helen’s identity because she has Helen’s passport, and they look alike. Florence meets a kiteboarder named Nick and starts a relationship with him. Greta travels to Morocco to check on Helen since she has not heard from her.

Several weeks later, Idrissi and an American embassy agent named Dan Massey arrive at the villa. They confirm that Florence is Helen, then tell her that the body of Jeanette Byrd was found on her property in Cairo. Florence denies knowing Jeanette, but the men have evidence linking Jeanette to Helen on the night that she went missing. Florence tries to tell the men that she is not Helen, but they no longer believe her. Through her research, Florence discovers that Jeanette is Helen’s childhood friend Jenny, about whom she wrote Mississippi Foxtrot.

Florence tries to leave the country, but Helen reappears, using Florence’s name. Helen tells Florence that she killed Jenny in self-defense, but she panicked and hid her body, and she knew that she needed to leave the country. Helen says that she wanted to escape and have Florence report her missing, but after the accident, their passports got mixed up. Florence agrees to help Helen and promises that she did not tell anyone about their switched identity, except for Nick.

The next day, Florence finds Helen’s real manuscript, which outlines how Helen planned the car accident and wants to murder Florence to steal her identity. Florence discovers Nick’s body in the pool and realizes that Helen must have killed him. Florence calls Massey, and he sends Idrissi to check on her. While Florence waits for Idrissi, Helen returns, and she learns that Florence discovered Nick’s body. Florence locks herself in the bathroom, and Helen tells her that Mississippi Foxtrot was about her, but she pinned the blame on Jenny.

When Jenny was released on parole, Helen murdered her to cover up her secret. Helen tells Florence that she drugged her on the night of the crash, hoping that the authorities would think she had died so that she could steal Florence’s identity. Since Helen left her estate to Florence, she knew that she could live off her own money for the rest of her life. Helen shoots off the bathroom lock, but Florence hits her on the back of the head and takes the gun. Helen tells Florence that she will never shoot her, and she walks out of the bathroom. Florence pushes Helen over the banister, then she smothers Helen to death. When Idrissi arrives, she tells him that she killed Helen in self-defense.

Florence meets Greta at her hotel. She explains everything to Greta, and then tells her that she wants to take Maud Dixon’s name and finish the manuscript that Helen left behind. Greta refuses to give this to Florence, so Florence murders her. Florence returns to Cairo, New York, after inheriting Helen’s fortune. She calls the biggest publishing agency in New York City and tells them that she is Maud Dixon, and she has a new manuscript for them.