Magic for Marigold

When I was 8 years old, I found this book in the public library and read it over and over. Even years later, I always remembered the book, although I didn't realize that the author was the same one who wrote Anne of Green Gables. Somehow, Marigold struck a chord with me, and the magic seemed real. I imagined her home in the clouds as a fanciful heavenly place. It was my absolutely favorite book of all time, and I would recommend it for any young sensitive, imaginative, girl.

As a baby Marigold's life was saved by a lovely lady doctor who then married into the Lesley clan and became her Aunt Marigold. The little girl lives with her Mother, Young Grandmother and Old Grandmother as her father had died before she was born.This is a fascinating book which is told from the point of view of a lonely little girl with a vivid imagination. She has an imaginary friend and shares her inmost thoughts with her. She also visits cousins and meets other children at school. As you read this book you learn all about the people who live on the beautiful Island with Marigold. You meet Old Grandmother, a fearsome old woman who has taken to her bed and the black cat sitting on the gate-post who is called the Witch of Endor. There are numerous aunts and uncles and cousins. Marigold grows older and learns about life. Her Grandmother learns lessons as well. (After Old Grandmother dies, Young Grandmother becomes just Grandmother). The book was first published in 1935 so it tells of a long-lost very different world. I have a 1937 copy which belonged to my mother and it is one of my most treasured possessions.

My mother, who is 82, gave me her already old copy of this book about 40 years ago. I read it many times then and many times to my daughters when then were small. We consider it one of the best of the middle childhood books for girls. It uses images of nature to develop a powerful sense of place and an almost ecological ethic that is way ahead of its time. It is a feminist tale in that there is a big range of female characters of all shapes and ages, good and bad, strong and weak, boss and bossed, smart and very smart, to love and to hate. The book is a collection of chapters that stand up on their own, each with its own message, and in that way mirrors everyday life with stories of success and failure repeated over and over. It is a comforting book because Marigold is not too good, too beautiful, or too smart to stay out of trouble, but ultimately digs her way out using her own resources. Neither too good nor too bad, she is pretty much a regular, real girl trying to figure out how to grow up without being separated from her emotions, her imagination, and her true self.

This delightful novel focuses on Marigold's growth from childhood to adolescense. She is a very likable and human character. The character portrayal is very good. The contrast between Marigold and Old Grandmother is interesting. Marigold triumphs, tragedies, fears, successes are on the surface commonplace but they are the stuff of life, this book is a treasure, a joy to read. (Interesting is Marigold's favorite word, I like rereading this book and seeing the world through her eyes.) The only disappointment in this book is Marigold's mother, Lorraine, who never deveops a back bone. Marigold is spunky enough, she always rises to the occasion as when she entertaing unexpected guests when her mother and grandmother were unexpectedly called away. The characterization of women (i.e. a woman doctor stops working just because she is married) is dated but need not interfere with one's enjoyment of this story.

Witty, funny, with a tang of bittersweet harmony woven within its pages, this story captures the essence of childhood struggling to grasp the joys and sorrows of adolescence. From the very beginning, Marigold works her magic on the entire clan. Take a walk with her and Old Grandmother in the moonlit garden one evening and discover the unspoken connection between this unlikely pair. Relive your childhood as she finds herself in more trouble than she can count. As you read the pages, you'll remember your first love letter, your first friend,and your first disappointment. Laugh with her as she shares a good joke with Uncle Horace. But be prepared. Marigold has her quiet, reflective moments too, especially with Aunt Marigold. Like all children, she too must learn the hardest lesson of all: letting go. Discover how she learns that the greatest magic comes from within herself.