*Editorial Book Review*
The Making of Marigold McGrath
by Carrie Hayes
Publication Date: April 29th, 2026
Publisher: HTPH Press
Pages: 332
Genre: Historical Fiction
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
"There's gonna be a war, you know."
She knew he was right. "But I love it here." Then she whispered, "And, the people at home are on the wrong side."
When we first meet Marigold McGrath from New York, she is a young, carefree girl who does what she wants – and usually gets away with it. Bright, with a passion for photography and the movies, she spends her days skipping school for the cinema, and spending all her free time with her best friend, Trude.
But when Trude leaves America to study in Europe, Marigold attends college near her home. There, she learns her first lesson in growing up when a handsome tutor shows an interest in her. She wholeheartedly throws herself into the affair – until they are discovered, and reality bites.
As her life as she knows it begins to unravel, an invitation to Europe is most welcome, and soon, she throws herself into her new life in London. With war looming large, photographic evidence of events is in demand, and when she agrees to photograph child refugees of the Kindertransport, Marigold wakes up – fast – to the new reality.
Marigold McGrath is an intriguing character: intelligent but nonchalant, naïve yet with an attitude, determined yet easily distracted.
Marigold's upbringing in New York is a financially comfortable middle-class life, with her mother's focus on her daughter's bearing and manners, and her father's distanced indifference. His views perturb her (and me), and I fully understood her reaction to go to England.
Her character development through the novel is well-drawn out, not rushed, and therefore realistic. Whilst she has a range of positive and negative experiences that shape her coming-of-age, they don't change her overnight. Instead, we see her acknowledging them, file them for future reference, and move on.
Marigold maintains her identity of a young woman who choses to stay in London in perilous times, eyes wide open to the realities of the war, but without succumbing to cynicism. At work, she lets her camera do the talking. When her father wants to her to return home, she refuses. Instead, she grows into her own person, yet she never loses her youthful attitude as she edges into adulthood, with all its temptations.
The author's comprehensive narrative provides readers with fascinating glimpses into the world of 1930s / 40s photography, which was truly enlightening. Ms Hayes' portrayal walks the fine line between ordinary life, with its movie stars, friendships, and glitz, and devastating wartime events extremely well.
The research undertaken for this novel is incredible, and Ms Hayes’ focus on the human(e) side of the war is revealing. Readers are immersed in a realistic and compelling setting.
In Joop, a young Dutch man who joins the resistance, Ms Hayes has created a character who doesn't set out to be brave – he only wants to help out and make a difference. But before he knows it, events escalate. I found Joop's the most interesting part of the novel. Through this multi-layered character, who starts off as a fun-loving young man who captures Marigold's heart, we witness first hand the plight of refugees, and the struggles of the resistance movements. And we discover the dark side of Nazi camps. His story is utterly mesmerising.
There is also a plethora of secondary characters, which add depth to the plot and the whole setting. Marigold is popular, with her support network firmly in place.
The one aspect of the novel that I had some issues with was the rather abrupt, jumpy narrative style. At times – for example, in a scene relating to an unexpected death in the family – things move on so fast, the event hardly registers, and I had to re-read it to make sure I understood it correctly. Throughout the novel, I wasn't allowed access into Marigold's head, which left me feeling detached – as if watching it all from the sidelines. For me, it was a somewhat surreal, impersonal reading experience that drew me out of the narrative several times.
Overall, The Making of Marigold McGrath is a captivating novel about a young, carefree New York girl who – due to circumstances outside her control – was forced to grow up fast. She immersed herself into an environment that would have seen lesser characters run for the next plane, yet she persevered. It is a story of determination and discovery, of skills and opportunity; and of the quiet courage of a young American woman in a country under attack.
I can happily recommend this novel to readers looking for books with a focus on coming-of-age characters and their growth, set against a well-researched, realistic historical backdrop – and, of course, to those many readers interested in women in history.
Cathie Dunn
The Coffee Pot Book Club
Buy Link:
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
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.
Connect with Carrie:
Website • Facebook • Instagram • Substack
Amazon Author Page • BookBub • Goodreads
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