The Marigold Field

Whitman Saga #1

by Diane Pearson

Through the vibrant years of the early part of the century—from 1896 to 1919—lived the Whitmans, the Pritchards and the Dances, whose lives were destined to be intertwined… These poor, proud, high-spirited people… people whose roots were in the farming country of southern England... in the bawdy and exuberant streets of the East End.

Jonathan Whitman, his cousin Myra, sisters Anne Louise and Betsy Pritchard and the enormous Pritchard clan to which they belonged, saw the changing era and the incredible events of a passing age—an age of great poverty and great wealth, of the Boer War and social reform, of straw boaters, feather boas and the music hall.

Throughout of years, ambitious Anne-Louise Pritchard, became a selfish vixen who lies, cheats, does whatever she must to get what she wants; but her sister, Betsy, plain and good, who may be the richer of the two after all; and Jonathan Whitman, with his books, his poignant first love, and his dream for the future. Around these three move others who affect their lives: big, lovable Maxie Dance, the natty fishmonger who walks out with Anne-Louise when she is working in London; Betsy's quietly loving husband, Math; Jonathan's strange sister, Emily.

And finally the story of one woman's consuming love and of a jealous obsession that threatened to destroy the very man she adored…

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

327 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Diane Margaret Pearson was born on 5 November 1931 in Croyden, London, England, daughter of Miriam Harriet Youde and William Holker. During her childhood, she often visited her grandparents in a village on the Surrey/Kent borders. She attended Secondary School in Croyden. She became in 1975, the second wife of the Irish actor Richard Leech (McClelland).

At 16, Diane started her career in publishing with Jonathan Cape Ltd, and she has been Senior Editor for Transworld Publishers for more than 35 years. In 1994 she won the British Book Award for Editor of the Year. As Diane Pearson she has published six historical romance novels and several short stories. She also was the President of the Romantic Novelists' Association from 1986 to 2011, when she retired. A widow since 2004, she lived in her native London until her death on 5 August 2017.

Reviews

[Dorcas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diane Pearson always delivers a riveting and memorable story. Its difficult to give a synopsis of this one because it is largely character, rather than plot, driven.

Many years are covered here and two wars (The Boer War and WW1) but they are only really important in the way that they affect the characters and not for the events themselves.

Briefly, The Marigold Field centers around three people: Jonathan Whitman and the two Pritchard sisters, Betsy and Annie. (Along with several minor characters who never seem very minor at the time, including Jonathan's cousin /wife, Myra).
Betsy is plain and good, Annie is pretty, selfish and conniving, and Jonathan is a man striving to make his way in an unfair world.

There is no part of the novel that lags or tangentizes (I made that up), its absorbing in an almost soap opera kind of way and yet nothing except life really HAPPENS, but still you read on, open mouthed, and feel that it is enough.

CONTENT:
SEX: Mentioned frankly, fade to black, some suggestive scenes and an attempted rape
VIOLENCE: Brief war imagery
PROFANITY: Very mild
Recommended Reading Audience: New Adult

*Note: "Sarah Whitman" is the sequel to this

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book oh so many years ago - I remember at the end I closed the book and just cried my eyes out. I wonder if I’d react the same today.

[Jeannine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good old-fashioned family saga, set in rural southern England in the early 1900s, and following the lives of three families. The plot is the plot of any family, marriage, children, death, change. A good solid read with interesting characters of an earlier time. Recommended.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

it gave me a lot of pleasure thread it.

[Rebekah Giese Witherspoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This family saga is set in the English countryside during the time period of 1896 to 1919, and the characters really pulled me into the story. Diane Pearson takes a spunky and selfish woman (think Scarlett O’Hara) and marries her to a dreamy and kindhearted man (like Ashley Wilkes, but with more strength and determination). And the supporting cast of characters is just as interesting.

This novel would have been 5 stars for me with better pacing (I usually had no idea what year I was living in or how old the children were at any given point in the story) and with a little less telling and a little more showing. This is good historical fiction and I can’t figure out why Diane Pearson’s novels are out of print. I was happy to find a used copy from an online bookstore.