Review: The Making of Marigold McGrath by Carrie Hayes
- Merissa
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
Book details:
Book Title: The Making of Marigold McGrath
Series: Freed (Marigold is book one, and Freed is a title which is still TBC)
Author Name: Carrie Hayes
Publication Date: April 29, 2026
Publisher: HTPH PRESS
Pages:332
Genre: Historical fiction
Any Triggers: grief, war, loss
@CarriesHayes984 @thecoffeepotbookclub
@carriehayes1964 @thecoffeepotbookclub
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.
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4 out of 5 (Great)
THE MAKING OF MARIGOLD McGRATH is a Second World War story that doesn't shy away from the hurt and pain that war brings to ordinary lives. Okay, so not everyone had the opportunity to meet with Winston Churchill when he was Prime Minister, or meet Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, but you get the idea.
We start in America with Marigold living with her parents. Her best friend, Trude, lives with her father, but is soon leaving the country to study abroad. Marigold makes a mistake and ends up moving to London. Her life is a series of happenings, sometimes being in the right place at the right time, and other times being in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time.
One of the other main characters is Joop from the Netherlands. He was studying in Britain, too, until the war happened and he signed up. Eventually, he fights for the Dutch Resistance. I won't say anything else, because I don't want to give any spoilers.
While the story is both gripping and heartbreaking, as it deals with the turmoil of war, I did find it a little disjointed at times, especially when a character died. It was written, done, and moved on with very little time to process. I also don't know if it is the first in a series, as there were definitely questions left unanswered, with a rather abrupt ending.
On the whole, this was a great read that I'm glad I have read. I learnt more about the War than I originally knew (like the pets), and would definitely read more by this author. Recommended by me.
** The same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
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.
Author Links:
Website: www.carriehayeswrites.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carriehayes1964/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Carrie-Hayes/author/B083R8LZQQ
Substack Infrequent Newsletter: https://substack.com/@hayesc
Tour hosted by: The Coffee Pot Book Club
Thank you so much for hosting Carrie Hayes on your lovely blog today, and for sharing your fabulous review for her novel, The Making of Marigold McGrath. We're delighted you enjoyed it.
Take care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club