The making of Mollie - Anna Carey

It's spring 1912, and 14-year-old Mollie Carberry lives in Drumcondra with her loving but distracted parents, her older sister Phyllis, her spoiled older brother Harry and her saintly little sister Julia. Mollie's convinced that her life is boring - until she discovers that Phyllis is a secret suffragette. After attending a suffrage meeting, Mollie wants to do something for the movement too - and she soon convinces her best friend Nora to join her. At last, they have some excitement in their lives!

While some of their classmates approve of their new cause, others can't see the point. Their timid schoolfriend Stella worries that Mollie and Nora are going to get into trouble. And their classmate Grace, who also happens to be Nora's cousin, disapproves of anybody who steps out of line. Despite this general apathy, as the weeks go by, Mollie and Nora become even more determined to do something for the cause. Even though nobody in the cause seems to particularly want their help.

ANNA CAREY is a journalist and author from Dublin who has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent and many other publications. Anna's first book, The Real Rebecca, was published in 2011, and went on to win the Senior Children's Book prize at the Irish Book Awards. Rebecca returned in the critically acclaimed Rebecca's Rules, Rebecca Rocks and Rebecca is Always Right. The Making of Mollie (2016) was her first historical novel and was shortlisted for the Senior Children's Book prize at the 2016 Irish Book Awards and was followed by the sequel, Mollie on the March, which received rave reviews.

brilliantly portray the Irish suffragette movement at the height of its activity in 1912

LOVED this YA novel about teenage suffrage in 1912. VERY charming but also gives great insight into gender politics ... Suitable for all ages but would have great impact on tweenies and teenagers, male and female. Its GREAT!

best suited to challenge a sixth class to read historical fiction and to form political opinions and thoughts … I think it is important that children have access to reading material that is not only entertaining and well-written but also challenging to their thoughts and actions. Anna Carey ticks all these boxes in this novel

this book was a riveting read … It was an important and thought provoking read and I really enjoyed the depths of the subject matter

Carey's characters jump off the page with vigour … as educational as it is entertaining

literary role model ... teens young and old should read Anna Carey's The Making of Mollie, an accessible diary-style account of the suffragette movement in Dublin in 1912 with some remarkable contemporary parallels

a most unusual and fascinating book which would be the ideal present for any child aged between ten and fifteen

Irish author Carey … presents a gentle and readable account of Mollie's activism and a charming picture of Dublin life at the time … The story unfolds as a series of letters Mollie writes to her friend Frances, away at boarding school; her voice is reminiscent of another historic heroine, Anne of Green Gables, only with an Irish lilt. The plot is realistic and satisfying. Mollie and Nora don't achieve greatness, but in the end they know they've made a contribution to a worthwhile cause … lovely … with an unusual setting

I was immediately drawn into this story by the easy tone of 14-year-old Mollie writing to her friend at boarding school. The book is set in Dublin, 1912, when Home Rule was being lobbied for. Another struggle was surfacing, too, not universally welcomed; women were arguing that the new parliamentary vote should be for all, and not just half, the population. We soon learn through Mollie's letters that her older sister has a secret: Phyllis is a suffragette! The plot revolves around the irrepressible Mollie becoming both politically aware and active. At first, she notices that her brother gets the best bits of chicken at supper. And he is allowed to relax afterwards while she and her sisters have to do the darning. From such gentle observations, Anna Carey builds up a kind of Girls' Own picture of the unequal status of women. The family servant, Maggie tartly sums up her own shaky existence, 'I may very well be part of the family, but it's a part that can be sent packing without a reference.' As well as this wonderful humour, Carey makes excellent use of sources. Heckles at one of the rallies Mollie sneaks off to are quotations from contemporary news reports. The slang used is drawn from yearbooks of the (actual) school that Mollie attends. And Mollie's final act of daring is rooted in the court records of the day … if you approach this as the writings of Mary Wollstonecraft sung to the tune of Malory Towers it works quite delightfully. I, for one, curled up on the couch and did not put it down

The Making of Mollie drops the feisty titular character into the radical political and social suffragette movement. I loved this book because the plot intertwines everyday life, school problems and feminism to create a realistic portrait of an Irish schoolgirl in the early twentieth century … The spectre of arrest and violence that looms over the schoolgirls' antics shows the struggle that the suffragettes went through for a simple human right. This just adds a touch of tension and fear into the otherwise mischievous schoolgirls' antics … although many will promote this novel to a female audience, I would strongly recommend it to boys as well, because the story is about a significant historical period that changed society … an interesting historical novel, with a splash of girl power added for good measure