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The Canary Girls

Written by: Jennifer Chiaverini
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
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Publisher's Summary

Rosie the Riveter meets A League of Their Own in New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini’s lively and illuminating novel about the “munitionettes” who built bombs in Britain’s arsenals during World War I, risking their lives for the war effort and discovering camaraderie and courage on the football pitch.

Early in the Great War, men left Britain’s factories in droves to enlist. Struggling to keep up production, arsenals hired women to build the weapons the military urgently needed. “Be the Girl Behind the Man Behind the Gun,” the recruitment posters beckoned.

Thousands of women—cooks, maids, shopgirls, and housewives—answered their nation’s call. These “munitionettes” worked grueling shifts often seven days a week, handling TNT and other explosives with little protective gear.

Among them is nineteen-year-old former housemaid April Tipton. Impressed by her friend Marjorie’s descriptions of higher wages, plentiful meals, and comfortable lodgings, she takes a job at Thornshire Arsenal near London, filling shells in the Danger Building—difficult, dangerous, and absolutely essential work.

Joining them is Lucy Dempsey, wife of Daniel Dempsey, Olympic gold medalist and star forward of Tottenham Hotspur. With Daniel away serving in the Footballers’ Battalion, Lucy resolves to do her bit to hasten the end of the war. When her coworkers learn she is a footballer’s wife, they invite her to join the arsenal ladies’ football club, the Thornshire Canaries.

The Canaries soon acquire an unexpected fan in the boss’s wife, Helen Purcell, who is deeply troubled by reports that Danger Building workers suffer from serious, unexplained illnesses. One common symptom, the lurid yellow hue of their skin, earns them the nickname “canary girls.” Suspecting a connection between the canary girls’ maladies and the chemicals they handle, Helen joins the arsenal administration as their staunchest, though often unappreciated, advocate.

The football pitch is the one place where class distinctions and fears for their men fall away. As the war grinds on and tragedy takes its toll, the Canary Girls persist despite the dangers, proud to serve, determined to outlive the war and rejoice in victory and peace.

©2023 Jennifer Chiaverini (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers
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What listeners say about The Canary Girls

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Beautiful Detailed Storytelling

This was captivating at every turn. As a football player and fan and as someone fascinated with the triumphs and struggles of those in historically told tales, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the story.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Women doing their bit in WWI

This is a new story for me - I had no idea that women were so exposed to chemicals for munitions. Based on true facts and told with an enthralling story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating little known history

Learned so much about women working during WW1 and the dangers they faced . Well written and read.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Annoying narration

it was a good story, interesting and well written. Unfortunately it was narrated by an American who has probably never been to London. This is the only explanation I have for why she mispronounced many place names and applied inappropriate accents to the characters. Many of the male characters were given Northern accents and many of the working class girls, RP. It was very distracting and irritating.

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Love this novel

I love how it focuses on the women individually, each from diverse backgrounds and unites them through their passions. The history surrounding the story is fascinating to learn. Excellent narration.

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Canary girls

Well written and the narration was excellent. I strongly recommend for anyone interested in how women contributed in the war effort

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Sacrifice

What a huge sacrifice the Canary Girls made for their country. Read it and find out.

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A part of history I had no idea about

I never thought about the danger, faced by women who worked in the munitions factory – this is a really important piece of work, even though it is technically fiction. And I loved how women’s football was woven into the story. Beautifully written and beautifully narrated. Highly recommended!

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It was alright

The story dragged on a little bit. could have been a 7 hour book instead of 13 hours. The great war from the women's perspective was very interesting!

I was very disappointed the story was fiction. if it was going to be a fiction story the author should have added more drama. Also would have been more interesting to have a story from a real Canary girl.

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Too much backstory, not enough action

The author has done her research and she's to be commended for that but it takes forever to get into the story -- way too much backstory introducing the various characters (let us learn more about them as the story develops) and there are so many "My darlings" that I was tempted to turn it into a drinking game. And while the football matches were interesting-ish, they could have been abbreviated. Overall, the pace was slow and had I been reading vs. listening (Saskia Maarleveld is perfect as always) I think I would have been tempted to give up. Still, I learned about a facet of WWI I did not know and I did appreciate the Author's Note at the end.

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