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A Fall of Marigolds Paperback – February 4, 2014
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September 1911. On Ellis Island in New York Harbor, nurse Clara Wood cannot face returning to Manhattan, where the man she loved fell to his death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Then, while caring for a fevered immigrant whose own loss mirrors hers, she becomes intrigued by a name embroidered onto the scarf he carries...and finds herself caught in a dilemma that compels her to confront the truth about the assumptions she’s made. What she learns could devastate her—or free her.
September 2011. On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, widow Taryn Michaels has convinced herself that she is living fully, working in a charming specialty fabric store and raising her daughter alone. Then a long-lost photograph appears in a national magazine, and she is forced to relive the terrible day her husband died in the collapse of the World Trade Towers...the same day a stranger reached out and saved her. But a chance reconnection and a century-old scarf may open Taryn’s eyes to the larger forces at work in her life.
“[Meissner] creates two sympathetic, relatable characters that readers will applaud. Touching and inspirational.”—Kirkus Reviews
- Print length400 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBerkley
- Publication dateFebruary 4, 2014
- Dimensions4.95 x 1.06 x 8.17 inches
- ISBN-10045141991X
- ISBN-13978-0451419910
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Review
“Weaves a compelling tapestry of past and present, of love and loss and learning to love again, of two women connected through time in a rich and unique way.”—Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
“Like the golden threads of a scarf sprinkled with marigolds, Susan Meissner weaves two unspeakable New York tragedies—the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and 9/11—into a shimmering novel of love and acceptance. Meissner’s heroines, Clara and Taryn, live a century apart, but their stories are connected not just by a bright scrap of fabric but by love lost. A compelling novel, A Fall of Marigolds turns fate into a triumph of spirit.”—Sandra Dallas, New York Times bestselling author of True Sisters
“Meissner has crafted a thoughtful story about lost loves and times past, illustrating how quickly disaster can take away what we hold most dear, and how ultimately we must move forward with hope in our hearts.”—Margaret Dilloway, bestselling author of The Care and Handling of Roses With Thorns
“A transportive, heartwarming, and fascinating novel that will resonate with readers in search of emotionally satisfying stories connecting past and present, and demonstrating the healing power of love.”—Erika Robuck, bestselling author of Call Me Zelda
“Susan Meissner knits the past and the present with the seamless skill of a master storyteller. A beautifully written, moving novel that had me gripped from the first page.”—Kate Kerrigan, New York Times bestselling author of Ellis Island
“Deftly weaves a story of love and loss... an inspiring story of hope and the belief that with tomorrow comes a new day full of promise.”—Lorie Conway, author/producer of “Forgotten Ellis Island”
“Susan Meissner has written a courageous novel, moving with great insight between the haunting parallel stories of two women trying to recover from the losses of a terrible fire in 1911 New York City and the unforgettable fall of the twin towers on 9/11. An uncommon celebration of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable tragedy, A Fall of Marigolds is a beautiful reminder that although life is perilous, love is a powerful healer.”—Kimberly Brock, 2013 Georgia Author of the Year and author of The River Witch
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Berkley (February 4, 2014)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 045141991X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0451419910
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 4.95 x 1.06 x 8.17 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #21,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #476 in Mothers & Children Fiction
- #507 in Family Saga Fiction
- #2,222 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Susan Meissner is the USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction with more than three-quarters of a million books in print in eighteen languages. Her novels include The Nature of Fragile Things, starred review Publishers Weekly; The Last Year of the War, a Library Reads and Real Simple top pick; As Bright as Heaven, starred review from Library Journal; Secrets of a Charmed Life, a 2015 Goodreads Choice award finalist; and A Fall of Marigolds, named to Booklist’s Top Ten women’s fiction titles for 2014. She is also RITA finalist and Christy Award and Carol Award winner. A California native, she attended Point Loma Nazarene University and is also a writing workshop volunteer for Words Alive, a San Diego non-profit dedicated to helping at-risk youth foster a love for reading and writing.
Visit Susan at her website: https://susanmeissnerauthor.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/susanmeissnerauthor/ on Twitter at @SusanMeissner or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/susan.meissner
Customer reviews
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To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers enjoyed the book's story and found it engaging. They appreciated the well-written prose and smooth transitions. Readers were interested in the historical aspects, particularly Ellis Island. The characters were described as fully developed and relatable. Overall, customers found the book heartwarming and emotional, with a poignant depiction of loss and grief.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the book. They find the story engaging and clever, capturing readers from the first page. The characters are complex and interesting. Overall, customers describe the book as a wonderful, fulfilling read that will keep them hooked until the end.
"...This well-written book is completely fulfilling and heartwarming." Read more
"...of the book were fewer and shorter than Clara’s, her story was extremely compelling and I hoped desperately for some resolution to the pain and..." Read more
"I enjoyed this story so much! The characters are complex and interesting. Great read if you love historical fiction works" Read more
"...An OK summer read, but a bit of a challenge to understand the author's motive...." Read more
Customers enjoy the story. They find it interesting and relatable, with a dual timeline. The book is described as historical fiction that makes reading about 9/11 seem real.
"...It’s a beautiful and timeless story about love and hope...." Read more
"...The characters are complex and interesting. Great read if you love historical fiction works" Read more
"...The story of Clara was interesting and was told in much more detail than the story of Taryn...." Read more
"A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner A beautiful tale of love and loss, hope and renewal, past and present—all connected by a scarf depicting..." Read more
Customers enjoy the writing quality of the book. They find the prose beautiful and poignant, with smooth transitions. The book is well-written, edited, and an easy read. Readers appreciate the vivid and heart-wrenching depiction of 9/11 events.
"...This well-written book is completely fulfilling and heartwarming." Read more
"...The prose was beautiful and poignant. I had never heard of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911 in New York City...." Read more
"Well written. Interesting" Read more
"This is a well written book about two different story lines happening around true tragic events that occurred in New York City roughly 90 years apart..." Read more
Customers enjoy the historical aspects of the book. They find the historical portrayals fascinating, particularly those regarding Ellis Island. The book takes readers on a journey from the distant past through the recent past, going back and forth between present day and 1911. Readers appreciate the dual timelines and historical fiction.
"...of this novel and how Meissner blended historical fiction with a contemporary story...." Read more
"I really enjoyed this book! It goes back and forth between present day and 1911...." Read more
"...A beautiful tale of love and loss, hope and renewal, past and present—all connected by a scarf depicting marigolds...." Read more
"...Her touch for historical fiction - thorough research combined with excellent world and character building added to her skilled story telling make..." Read more
Customers find the characters well-developed and engaging. They appreciate the research and world-building that contribute to the skilled storytelling. The scarf connects the characters and allows readers to feel their emotions. Readers also mention that the characters' grief is realistic and visceral, making them cry along with them.
"...own ability to understand the world around her, I just loved her character development...." Read more
"I enjoyed this story so much! The characters are complex and interesting. Great read if you love historical fiction works" Read more
"...The scarf connects characters and who learn the truth about love and moving forward in the future...." Read more
"...Clara's character is written well. I could feel her anxiety. I could also feel her begin to trust and love again...." Read more
Customers find the book heartwarming and poignant. They say the characters go through major emotional changes and grow as people. The story explores tragedy with humanity and symbolism. It's not a dark and sad story, but it has a haunting beauty and sadness of time and place. The parallels drawn between the Triangle shirtwaist factory tragedy and the horrors of 9/11 are unique.
"...A Fall of Marigolds made my heart swell, ache, and pound all at once. It’s a beautiful and timeless story about love and hope...." Read more
"...She goes through some major emotional changes in the book and really grows as a person, not just with moving on past the death of the man she loved..." Read more
"...The prose was beautiful and poignant. I had never heard of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911 in New York City...." Read more
"...a great story about how a material possession can be the catalyst for emotional expression...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's color scheme. They find the marigold scarf beautiful and mention it weaves its way through 110 years.
"...It’s a beautiful and timeless story about love and hope...." Read more
"...way that Meissner brings the stories of these two women together is beautiful and gave just the right resolution to both of them...." Read more
"...book is a story about two women, a century apart, who owned a beautiful marigold scarf...." Read more
"...in time, you solve the mystery of their connections, and how the beautiful scarf, covered with beautiful marigolds, binds them together, just as..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some find it fast-paced and enjoyable, with a pleasant progression. Others feel the story is formulaic and confusing at times, with slow and lackluster movement. Overall, opinions vary on how well the writing is done.
"...The story of Clara was interesting and was told in much more detail than the story of Taryn...." Read more
"I found the book to be slow and drawn out. The Ellis Island information was interesting but it was all slow moving." Read more
"...A very fast and enjoyable read!" Read more
"...The characters are beautiful and poignant, and deal with lost love, choices, and regrets...." Read more
Reviews with images
A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner 5/5 ⭐️
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2024A Fall of Marigolds
by Susan Meissner
5/5 ⭐️
I will never look at marigolds the same way. I can remember exactly where I was on September 11th and the devastation afterwards. A Fall of Marigolds made my heart swell, ache, and pound all at once. It’s a beautiful and timeless story about love and hope.
The book tells the story of two women living a century apart, connected by a scarf and shared grief. Clara Wood, a nurse on Ellis Island in 1911, is troubled by the loss of the man she loved in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Taryn Michaels tries to cope with life and raise her daughter alone after her husband dies in the collapse of the World Trade Towers. The scarf binds them together and gives them the strength to acknowledge the truth that life must go on.
The symbolism of the scarf connecting the past to the present fascinated me. As a hopeless romantic, I was rooting for Clara and Taryn to find love again. This well-written book is completely fulfilling and heartwarming.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner 5/5 ⭐️A Fall of Marigolds
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2024
by Susan Meissner
5/5 ⭐️
I will never look at marigolds the same way. I can remember exactly where I was on September 11th and the devastation afterwards. A Fall of Marigolds made my heart swell, ache, and pound all at once. It’s a beautiful and timeless story about love and hope.
The book tells the story of two women living a century apart, connected by a scarf and shared grief. Clara Wood, a nurse on Ellis Island in 1911, is troubled by the loss of the man she loved in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Taryn Michaels tries to cope with life and raise her daughter alone after her husband dies in the collapse of the World Trade Towers. The scarf binds them together and gives them the strength to acknowledge the truth that life must go on.
The symbolism of the scarf connecting the past to the present fascinated me. As a hopeless romantic, I was rooting for Clara and Taryn to find love again. This well-written book is completely fulfilling and heartwarming.
Images in this review - Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2017It’s been ten years since Taryn Michaels’ husband perished in the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City, and although she has attempted to put the pieces of her life back together, a photograph from that very day appears in a magazine and brings her right back to that moment. In the photograph, she’s wearing a scarf with a marigold pattern around her nose and mouth as she struggles to breathe through the smoke while running away from the collapsing towers. One hundred years prior to that, Clara Wood is a nurse on Ellis Island, repairing her heart from watching the love of her life perish in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire when she meets a young immigrant who has lost his wife on the ship over to America. All the man has left of his wife is a scarf with a beautiful marigold pattern, so Clara makes the choice to smuggle some of his belongings out of his late wife’s suitcase, a decision that will have lasting consequences for both of them.
A Fall of Marigolds is a story about two women, both struggling with a tremendous amount of grief and unsure of how to move past the losses they’ve had to face. Clara’s story takes up the majority of the novel, but Taryn’s is no less crucial to the story and just as heartbreaking. I really loved getting to know both women and loved how Meissner wrote both of their stories as separate but intertwined in a subtle way.
At first, Clara was a difficult character for me to like. She is very naïve and believes that she was in love with a man whom she barely knew, and believed with zero evidence to back up this belief, that he was in love with her as well. Watching people she worked with and was friends with literally die before her, either by being burned alive or jumping to their deaths, was incredibly traumatizing and she was deeply affected by that horrific experience. But still, it seemed as though she was unlikely to move on from that, and she almost clung to the immigrant she met who lost his wife, perhaps because they had a shared feeling of grief they were both dealing with. All that being said, I ended up REALLY liking Clara and rooting for her. I realized that she was simply the product of a sheltered home environment and almost no experience with men or dating, so she really couldn’t be held responsible for her naivety. She goes through some major emotional changes in the book and really grows as a person, not just with moving on past the death of the man she loved but also in her own ability to understand the world around her, I just loved her character development. By the end of the book I was pro-Clara all the way, and was so excited to see things start to come together in her life.
Taryn, on the other hand, I rooted for from the very beginning. Her experience was not only traumatic, but she carried a ton of guilt along with her pain, as she was supposed to meet her husband in the Twin Towers that day (that’s why he was in the building in the first place). She felt that she played a role in his death; and what’s worse, she was pregnant at the time and didn’t get a chance to tell her husband he was going to be a father. While her sections of the book were fewer and shorter than Clara’s, her story was extremely compelling and I hoped desperately for some resolution to the pain and grief that she still felt ten years after her husband’s death.
Ultimately the way that Meissner brings the stories of these two women together is beautiful and gave just the right resolution to both of them. I really enjoyed the flow of this novel and how Meissner blended historical fiction with a contemporary story. This was my first novel by Susan Meissner but it will definitely not be my last.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2024I enjoyed this story so much! The characters are complex and interesting. Great read if you love historical fiction works
- Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2016The basis of this book is a story about two women, a century apart, who owned a beautiful marigold scarf. Additionally, they both lost men in tragic events in Manhattan,a high-rise fire in1911 and the fall of the towers in 9/11. The story of Clara was interesting and was told in much more detail than the story of Taryn. Nevertheless, the connection between the two women was rather protracted and difficult to understand, in spite of the similarity of their two experiences. An OK summer read, but a bit of a challenge to understand the author's motive. Had Ms Meissner kept the story to Clara and stressed the importance of Ellis Island to her, it may have been more meaningful. From the acknowledgements that seemed to be her major interest. Thus, adding the tragedy of 9/11 seemed to have little impact on the overall plot.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2025I found it unbelievable that Clara fell “in love” with a man she talked to only briefly. For a few weeks! Just not reasonable and I couldn’t get past that. I never felt that I couldn’t wait to get back to reading the book.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2019I really enjoyed this book! It goes back and forth between present day and 1911. Both women are dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic event in their lives. Our present day protagonist, Taryn, works in a fabric shop. She specializes in finding matches for old fabrics so that her clients can make something new with a fabric that appeals to them, but which they have a limited amount of. She had been on her way to tell her husband that they were expecting a child when a client asked her to stop by to pick up a scarf that she wanted matched. As a result, Taryn was late to her appointment with her husband who worked in the World Trade Center. Instead, she was outside watching in horror on 9/11 when the towers fell. Back in 1911, Clara is a nurse on Ellis Island. She had also witnessed a horrible event, what came to be known as the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. She lost someone dear to her also, so these two women share similar experiences one hundred years apart. The beautiful scarf also binds them because they both have a connection to it too. As this story moves back and forth in time, you solve the mystery of their connections, and how the beautiful scarf, covered with beautiful marigolds, binds them together, just as their similar experiences do. Both learn more about themselves as they struggle to survive the horror that happened to them. Both stories are very engrossing, and I definitely recommend reading and sharing this book. I will be looking for other books from this author.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2024A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
A beautiful tale of love and loss, hope and renewal, past and present—all connected by a scarf depicting marigolds. The scarf connects characters and who learn the truth about love and moving forward in the future. A wonderful tale that will captivate the reader from the first page.
Top reviews from other countries
- SarwatReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written
A story that links two life altering moments in history. The story follows two women in different times I loved the writing style and the attention to the development of the main protagonist Clara. An enjoyable read.
- Jeanne40ishReviewed in Canada on December 28, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning read!
This was my first Susan Meissner read. Oh my heavens! Where have I been? This wonderful read follows two heroines, separated by a century. Both are very strong and determined women whose lives are inadvertently intertwined without ever knowing each other. Susan's writing had me at the get-go. There aren't many books that can do that for me. I usually give books 100 pages and then I put it down if I still can't get into it. This book was nothing like that! Thank you Susan for making my heart feel all the feels and for making these main characters women who I rooted for all through the book. Your choice of these two major, true life-changing storylines was a perfect. I had never heard of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. I studied it thoroughly during the time I was reading this book. Heartbreaking. I highly recommend this book!! Off to read Susan's Secrets of a Charmed Life. I'll be back!
-
PeterReviewed in Germany on August 25, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars ich liebe dieses buch
hmmmmmmmmm, was soll man sagen, ein traum. ich hab es für den urlaub mitgenommen - und achtung - man will dann gleich fast nichts anderes mehr tun als lesen ;) eine wirklich berührende, wenn auch oft sehr traurige geschichte, die besonders durch die leicht fließende schreibweise besticht. hab mich in die story verliebt......
- BronzReviewed in Australia on June 22, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fall Of Marigolds
I loved this book from the beginning. The 'voice' of the narrator is very compelling and gentle and the feeling of loss and damage makes you want to help her make herself better and heal. There are so many good characters and people you want to like. I wanted Clara to love Ethan. Thanks for this story, I will now go to find the rest of your writings.
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Australia on May 19, 2017
4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely read
A wonderful story of loss and love, of sadness and hope. A truly beautiful love story.