This is such a beautifully rendered story set in 1930's Germany and 1990's Great Britain and America. It is hard to believe that this is Ms. Freethy's first foray into published fiction. It's just that good!

The story opens in 1993 Cincinnati, Ohio, where Clara attends an auction of Allach porcelain figurines. She believes these figurines to be the link to her natural father's identity which her mother refused to divulge and whose identity her mother had taken to her grave. In alternating chapters, we read about Clara's mother, Bettina Vogel, as a young expressionistic painter in the Bauhaus school. This is where she meets a gifted, up-and-coming architect, Max Ehrlich, who just happens to be Jewish. They fall in love and eventually flee to Bavaria. Their beautiful story is charged with challenges and Max is found out and sent to nearby Dachau concentration camp without Bettina's knowledge.

This story's writing is painterly and the vocabulary rich. The scenes are exquisite and horrendous in equal measure. I was moved to tears as I read of Bettina's and Max's plight. The amount of research which went into this book is herculean. The story, although fictitious, utilizes historical fact for its framework and the story is woven in and through it. Yes, there was an Allach Porcelain concern which existed from 1936 to 1945 and yes, when its workers were called to military service, the interred at Dachau assumed their positions. This is an incredibly moving story and I eagerly await Ms. Freethy's next one.

I am grateful to St. Martin's Press for having provided an uncorrected digital galley of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: St. Matin's Press
Anticipated Publication Date: November 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1250289346
No. of pages: 384

A product of two star crossed lovers during WWII and the Nazi occupation, Clara attempts to find her 'real' father with little to no information from her mother. The only thing she has to go on is he was the 'artist of Dechau.' The dual story of the past and present was really well done.

This book is a bit out of my normal reads, but it sounded too good to not give it a try. And boy oh boy am I glad I read it. It was written really well, especially with the dual timelines.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my ARC of “The Porcelain Maker.” What a breathtaking, but heartbreaking story of love and loss. I really enjoyed the dual timelines of WWII and 1993. The author did an excellent job with prose and narrative storytelling and it is her debut novel. I cannot wait to read more from her. 5/5 ⭐️.

In present-day 1993, Clara Vogel has traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio from her home in London to bid on an auction for a handful of porcelain figurines. At first glance they aren't particularly noteworthy pieces - but for Clara, they are the only clue she has to the true identity of her father, a fact that her mother Bettina has kept from her. Joined by her daughter Lotte, Clara begins to unravel the truth behind her mother's life and her own identity.

The novel alternates narratives to Germany in the 1930's when young Bettina Vogel, a defiant German painter, meets Jewish sculpter Max Ehrlich. The two fall in love but on the cusp of WWII, their relationship becomes a dangerous one. Despite their best attempts, the two are torn apart until, years later, Bettina is given a chance to reunite with Max. Despite the inevitable end of their relationship, the two find solace in the art that they're able to make and the underlying purpose behind their creations.

I have a soft spot for novels centered around WWII, so was immediately drawn into "The Porcelain Maker". While the overall structure of this story wasn't novel, I enjoyed Freethy's prose and storytelling; for a debut author, she has a strong grasp of voice. I appreciated the way she focused on the importance of art - paintings, sculptures, and porcelain figurines - and how it remained key even in the midst of war; it was simultaneously a visual escape but also could serve as a medium for protest and rebellion. I loved the passages where she described these pieces in great detail, and the process and amount of work that went into creating these works of art.

Excited for this novel to be published in September 2023!

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an early copy of The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy

Debut author Sarah Freethy has created a unique and engaging chronicle of two young people who fall in love in Berlin as the Nazi regime is taking hold of Germany,,

Bettina Vogel is an avant-garde artist who is coming into her own in the art world. Max Erlich is an architect. Despite complications, they fall in love and make plans to leave Germany and its horrors behind. Jealous of Max's creativity and opportunities, co-workers attack Max and he is arrested for using a false name.

Bettina does not know what has become of Max and moves on in order to protect her unborn child. She has come up with the idea of reworking her artwork to align with Nazi propaganda. In a twist of fate, she reunites, albeit briefly, with Max in a Dachau porcelain factory which produces the sculptures the Nazis rush to purchase.

The novel travels between World War II and the 1990s as Bettina and Max's daughter, Clara, and her daughter, Lottie, an artist herself, work tirelessly to discover who Clara's father is.

The author has succeeded in creating a narrative rich in detail and particularly vocabulary. While readers hope for a happy ending, Clara and Lottie will definitely come away with a much deeper understanding of their heritage and will be proactive in having the story told.

This book does such a great job of weaving together the generational consequences of the Holocaust. Young love was one of the many things separated by religion and judged even within families. Bettina and Max thought they had a path to freedom and love, but Nazi reach was even in the smallest villages. Escape was the only option for survival, but so difficult and dangerous. The revelation of just how broad the underground network for helping refugees was, and how the need to help crossed many ethnic and religious groups may be surprising to many.

For a small town baker to have to navigate a tragic past, where so many documents were destroyed almost seems like folly. But Clara, promises to do look for the past hampered by the present. The story that unfolds is hard to imagine in the magnitude of tragedy suffered by so many, and how in the case of Max and Bettina, shaped every moment of their life. Clara will soon learn that sharing a home and genetics is no guarantee you will know someone.

I found this book moving, compelling and hard to put down. Any fan of history should appreciate this story.

Knowing how the trip is going to end doesn't make the voyage any less interesting or important, especially when it's a harrowing journey about the horrors of Nazi Germany. The Holocaust has been explored from many angles, but few as personal and poignant as in The Porcelain Maker. While the main focus is on Max & Bettina- how they met, fell in love, and are ripped apart-their story reverberates through decades and generations. Told in dual time frames- from 1925 to 1942, and 1993-The Porcelain Maker is about one women's quest to learn the identity of her father, and hopefully understand why her mother refused to speak of him. In 1925 Max and Bettina are young artists enjoying life, love, and friends, but for Max his Jewish heritage makes him a true marked man. Max is captured and sent to Dachau to make Allach Porcelain figurines for the Reich, while Bettina searches for the man she loves. The plot of The Porcelain Maker is slow moving at times, and although expected, the ending is painful and gruesome. But it's the power of love to survive even in the face of true evil that speaks loudest. The Porcelain Maker is one couple's story of survival, but is a lesson for all of humanity.

This was so enjoyable. The writing was immersive. A great historical fiction. I have thought about this book everyday since I have finished. The characters were PERFECT! I will never forget about them. 1925-1990s the author covers a lot of time but very well done! It’s amazing that this is a debut.
Thank you to netgalley for the chance to read this e-arc!

The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy is a beautiful story about a tumultuous time in history. The story takes place in the past and present day, but does not jump back and forth, so it is easy to follow. Clara’s artistic mother never told her who her father really was, so she decides to investigate the past to find out the truth. This is a love story, but different than most historical novels. The author tells us a story about arts that were prohibited, and the genre of art that was preferred by the Nazis. The title of the novel will give you a hint of one of the prized genres.
I loved this book and could not put it down. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a one-of-a-kind historical novel. I cannot wait to read Sarah Freethy’s next story. Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

A touching story of a daughter who is searching for her father after the death of her mother. All she has to go on is some very special porcelain figures that her mother loved. Her determination takes her through some very sad portions of her mother's life that reveals the strong spirit and love that her parents had.

A poignant story that draws you in and holds you right until the end.

This was a beautiful, poignant and sad WWII book with well-drawn characters. I enjoyed the storyline and Clara’s search for her father. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Both historical and à romantic. Story is woven between past and present.. A beautiful story in the middle of the war.
I truly enjoyed it and highly recommended this book!

The Porcelain Maker is the story of two people, Bettina Vogel and Max Ehrlich, who's forbidden and tortured love endured until the very end. You see, Bettina was German and Max was Jewish. Bettina was an artist and Max was an architect. At first Bettina's work was considered unorthodox, but before long, she became famous. She and Max had big plans to run away together. When the time came for them to go, Bettina waited for Max at the train station but Max was arrested and put in an internment camp.

Bettina got pregnant and lost that baby. But then she got pregnant again. Unfortunately Max was in prison before she could tell him. She believed the only thing she could do to protect her baby was to marry. She chose to marry a Nazi officer named Karl. He believed the baby was his and Bettina didn't tell him any different.

Max had worked at a porcelain factory before he was imprisoned. Since porcelain figurines were all the rave with the Nazis, Max's old boss requested that he come to work for him

Bettina had done a painting called The Viking which was her prized piece. Max remembered the painting and created a porcelain sculpture of it. Karl saw it and bought it for Bettina. Because of the finite detail and one little object in the painting that no one could see but that Max knew about, she knew he had created it. So she had her husband arrange for her to meet the sculptor. In the meantime, one of the Nazi upper echelon commissioned Bettina to do a series of porcelain figures. She decided she would go to the porcelain factory and work with Max. It was absolute heaven for them to be able to work together. Toward the end, Bettina came up with a scheme whereby she would bring their daughter, Clara, and one of her husband's uniforms to Max and with a little help from Max's boss and his secretary, the three of them would escape.

Up until this point Karl had been away in Paris on assignment. He wasn't due back for another couple of weeks. So Bettina went home with the intention of escaping the following day. She had already packed a bag with Clara's clothes and toys. Unfortunately, not long after she got home. Karl arrived. It turns out he'd had people spying on her and he knew about the bag that she had packed. He told her he was leaving for Paris again and he was taking Clara with him. He made arrangements for a doctor to come and see her and to ultimately lock her away in an asylum.

When Bettina didn't show up at the porcelain factory, Max's boss went to her apartment to find out what had happened to her. Her sister-in-law was there and informed him that Bettina was away in Italy. Of course Max was beside himself when she hadn't arrived. When his boss told him what had happened to her, he felt all was lost.

The book was back and forth between the 1940s and present day where Clara was in search of her father. Her mother had told her little about him. She had told her that her father was the porcelain maker. So Clara had traveled all over the world in search of the Viking and other sculptures that her father had created. She found an old picture with her mother, Max and two others. After extensive research, she and her daughter Lotte ended up in Munich. It was there that they met Max's old boss. She brought the photograph with her and he told her who Max was. What I haven't said is that Bettina had passed away by the time Clara went searching for her father.

I found this story intriguing and it had an element of suspense. I like it very much even though at times it was sad. You'll have to read the book to find out what happened to Max. I gave this book five stars.

The Porcelain Maker was an interesting book. It wasn’t my typical book and I confess the first fourth of the book had me struggling.
I enjoyed the mystery of the book. It caught my attention in that aspect. I also was consumed with the time period during World War II and found it most gripping.

I read the entire book. The author made me want to know what happened to the main couple along with the character Clara. There were a lot of people mentioned throughout the book and I must admit it was hard for me to keep up.

I appreciate the opportunity to review this book.

I consider myself pretty well-read when it comes to WWII and the Holocaust but this book manages to bring an aspect to light that I hadn’t previously been aware of - the Allach porcelain run by the SS itself.

This book was well-written, easy to read, and also educational. I recommend d this book to anyone who enjoys Holocaust fiction, or learning about 1940s era arts scene.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing this book for my review - the opinions expressed here are purely my own.

This is an amazing love story and very sad at the same time. It starts in pre WWII and brings to life the horror of Germany and man inhumanity to man in Hitler's Germany. This I a story everyone needs to read incase we should forget. the author does an amazing job of bringing the characters to life and going back in history and present day.

This is an entertaining, well-written, compelling, WWII historical fiction novel, based on an actual place, which is told in two timelines. It is fast paced, and vividly describes the lives of an architect and an artist during the war, and the search for answers by the artist's intelligent daughter. There is courage, suffering, sacrifice, endurance and heartbreak, and a satisfying, bittersweet conclusion.
NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Ms. Sarah Freethy kindly provided me with an ARC of this outstanding novel, and this is my honest opinion.

I read so many books about the suffering during WW II. This one was one of the better stories, although just as sad as so many others. Why do we continue to do this to other humans?

I like historical fiction and stories about artists, so this novel hit two of my interests. The story of the architect turned porcelain sculptor to survive imprisionment by the Nazis was informative. The 1993 story of Claire looking for her real father seems to be a popular trend in current fiction with characters looking to find out secrets of the past. I found this book fascinating and very readable.