The Canary Girls

A Novel

De: Jennifer Chiaverini

Narrado por: Saskia Maarleveld

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

Characters in the book

I really enjoyed this book and the depth of the characters in this story
She brought them to life along with their struggles

Canary Girls -- A Great Read

The trouble with Jennifer Chiaverini is that she sets the bar high for other authors who have primarily a female audience. Each time a new Chiaverini books comes out, I hope it's an Elm Creek book, and I'm always disappointed when its not. However, this book can hold its own with any of them. Very well done. I learned a lot. Her fiction inspires me to reach out and do a bit of research on the subjects she writes about. I highly recommend.

The bravery of the women

The unfairness women endure, and how men accepted, how females were t were tread as a second grade citizens

women's comraderie

women's sport and work conditions side by side in WWI Britain. marvelously written and performed !!!

Loved learning about this piece of history.

Canary Girls was a very engaging story with an excellent narrator. An interesting piece of history I never knew about. The characters were full of life and woven well into the story.

Excellent, Reed

This book was very well written, and I was very impressed with all of the good information I got on the history of World War I, which I didn’t know very much about. Especially with the munitions workers, and their exposure to TNT, and all that they went through.

Great information historical fiction

Engaging characters from diverse backgrounds, interwoven into a part of history, about which, I knew little.

Great mix of fiction and history

Loved the story, learning about the canary girls, the munitions sector and women’s football during the war. The narrator was excellent!

Story and great reader

Reader was excellent. Love historical fiction when you can learn about the happenings in the world in another era

JC knocks it out of the park!

Love the story. Anything by Ms. Chiaverini is well researched and a great story. Ms. Saskia Marleveld is my favorite narrator. Her voice floats over the words, dipping between accents effortlessly. So enjoyable. Every time. Thank you to everyone who put this book together.