The Making of Marigold McGrath by Carrie Hayes #WW2 #CoffeePotBookClub #Review

New York City, 1937. Seventeen-year-old Marigold McGrath is coming undone.

Her mother is dead. Her father is drawn to dangerous politics. The only place she feels joy is behind a camera — where she can frame the world on her own terms.

After a series of her own missteps, she reinvents herself in London: mentored by a celebrated émigré photographer, photographing Kindertransport children, working alongside Edward R. Murrow. She falls in love with Joop, a charming Dutch student, and shrugs off the war gathering around her.

Then the Blitz begins.

Joop vanishes into the Dutch Resistance. And Marigold — who has always preferred to photograph the world as she wishes it were — must finally decide what kind of woman, and what kind of witness, she is willing to become.

A sweeping WWII coming-of-age novel set in wartime London.

For readers of Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn, and SL Beaumont’s The War Photographers

Praise

I read a lot of historical novels … this one was one of my favorites. From the characters to the setting to the actions depicted I thoroughly enjoyed the journey—I really didn’t want it to end! Netgalley Review, 5*

“The Making of Marigold McGrath by Carrie Hayes is the tale of a well to do American seventeen year old sent to Europe just prior to World War II. The book is exquisitely written with a well paced dialogue. The characters are well formed and interesting. Sprinkled throughout the book are bits from news outlets that help set the larger context for the reader – they are well timed and helpful. Great read, well worth it!“ Goodreads Review, 5*

“The Making of Marigold McGrath explores a rarely examined aspect of WWII: the complex journeys to maturity of young adults in war-torn Europe as they seek human connection and meaning. Marigold finds both, using her skills as a photographer to document the stories of refugee children. With gobs of historical references and vivid imagery, interlaced with intrigue and romance, The Making of Marigold McGrath is a great read!“ Goodreads Review, 5*

Review:

I was surprised how authentic WW2 London felt in this novel by someone who doesn’t live there. Clearly well-researched and with vivid details this story of a young photographer caught up in both the war and a love affair with Joop, a Dutch national, will keep you turning the pages. The character of Marigold grows and deepens through the book. She realises about a third of the way through the book that the job she was doing in a half-hearted kind of way, was one of real importance, and takes steps to correct herself. She is lucky at the outset with mentor Edward R Murrow, and the details of darkroom, cameras and so forth felt authentic. A lot of history is woven into the story, and it even featured the Calgarth Estate in the Lake District, where 300 child Holocaust survivors were placed during the war – this is local to me but not history most are aware of. This is an easy read with a surprise ending you won’t expect. This book is heartily recommended to all who enjoy WW2 fiction, particularly those interested in photography and the Dutch Resistance.

BUY THE BOOK HERE.

About Carrie Hayes

Carrie’s first two novels, Naked Truth or Equality and Well Dressed Lies, follow the lives of the iconoclastic suffragist sisters, Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin.

Carrie lives with her husband and two spoiled dogs in a rambling Victorian house just outside of New York City.

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