“What’s your name?” she said into the dim light, in the direction of the most friendly voice. She counted: she had to crawl over five almost invisible people before she got to the last bed in this small dormitory.
She’s got to take the far bed, I’m not giving up this one,” declared the first voice, now on the edge of indignation.Īlice began climbing over the still, shadowy figures, unnerved by their smothered giggles and deliberate pokes from unseen feet. “Lordy, another one.” This was a second voice, bouncy and light, with a hint of mischief. I’m from New Hampshire, here to work.” It didn’t seem enough, but she was worn to the bone from her long coach ride to this gritty, bustling mill town that promised so much. The air was close, aromatic with the scent of warm bodies.
An oil lamp flickered, turned so low she could see no more than a line of cots squeezed close together in a long, narrow room. Based on the actual murder of a mill girl and the subsequent trial in 1833, THE DARING LADIES OF LOWELL brilliantly captures a transitional moment in America’s history while also exploring the complex nature of love, loyalty, and the enduring power of friendship.Alice stepped gingerly into the darkened dormitory, holding her breath against the unexpected. Alice finds herself torn between her commitment to the girls in the mill and her blossoming relationship with Samuel. A sensational trial follows, bringing all the unrest that’s brewing to the surface. This dream is shattered when Lovey is found strangled to death. Their mutual attraction is intense, tempting Alice to dream of a different future for herself. Although mill owner, Hiram Fiske, pays no heed, Alice attracts the attention of his eldest son, the handsome and reserved Samuel Fiske. “Offers up a compelling slice of both feminist and Industrial Age history”- Christian Science Monitorįrom the New York Times bestselling author of THE DRESSMAKER comes a moving historical novel about a bold young woman drawn to the looms of Lowell, Massachusetts-and to the one man with whom she has no business falling in love.Įager to escape life on her family’s farm, Alice Barrow moves to Lowell in 1832 and throws herself into the hard work demanded of “the mill girls.” In spite of the long hours, she discovers a vibrant new life and a true friend-a saucy, strong-willed girl name Lovey Cornell.īut conditions at the factory become increasingly dangerous, and Alice finds the courage to represent the workers and their grievances. A refreshingly old-fashioned heroine, she makes THE DARING LADIES OF LOWELL appealing” “Alice is cast in the mold of a character created by an earlier Alcott, the passionate and spunky Jo March.
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