The Women of the Copper Country

By: Mary Doria Russell

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling and award-winning author of The Sparrow comes “historical fiction that feels uncomfortably relevant today” (Kirkus Reviews) about “America’s Joan of Arc” - the courageous woman who started a rebellion by leading a strike against the largest copper mining company in the world.

In July 1913, 25-year-old Annie Clements has seen enough of the world to know that it’s unfair. She’s spent her whole life in the mining town of Calumet, Michigan, where men risk their lives for meager salaries - and have barely enough to put food on the table for their families. The women labor in the houses of the elite and send their husbands and sons deep underground each day, dreading the fateful call of the company man telling them their loved ones aren’t coming home. So, when Annie decides to stand up for the entire town of Calumet, nearly everyone believes she may have taken on more than she is prepared to handle. Yet as Annie struggles to improve the future of her town, her husband becomes increasingly frustrated with her growing independence. She faces the threat of prison while also discovering a forbidden love. On her fierce quest for justice, Annie will see just how much she is willing to sacrifice for the families of Calumet.

From one of the most versatile writers in contemporary fiction, this novel is an authentic and moving historical portrait of the lives of the crucial men and women of the early labor movement “with an important message that will resonate with contemporary readers” (Booklist).

©2019 Mary Doria Russell (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

Fascinating story!

Cassandra Campbell is one of my favorite narrators - but the mispronunciations of Houghton and pasty so detracted from the story! At least she pronounced Sisu correctly.
But lived the history and story as my mother’s Finnish family lived in the area at this time.

inspiring story, great history

loved many of the characters. reasonably well written and performed. would recommend to all citizens, made me very grateful for the union workers at the turn of the century wide sacrifices won us many of the rights we have today. I had very limited knowledge of this history.

Sue

A wonderful account of the horrific start up of labor unions depicting why they were needed. The story line carries the reader along with both the fictional and actual people in the novel. A great read. Narration was perfectly done and added considerably to the overall story.

A story that should be adapted to film

With it's strong characters and a compelling storyline that set within fascinating and interesting historical and geographical context, Mary Doria Russell's book "The Women of the Copper Country" screams being adapted into a movie.

Excellent historical fiction

While I can understand how the narrator’s mispronunciation of some words would grate on people from the UP, I don’t have that context so it didn’t bother me. Once again Mary Doria Russell gave us a beautifully written novel that was true to the historical facts. The characters were well developed and the plot line flowed along seamlessly. The labor movement is an important part of US history that is easy to overlook with everything going on in the early twentieth century. You have to wonder if we are just letting history repeat itself.

Story good, narration has issues!

The story was well researched and informative. I enjoyed the book.
Like others, the issues were with the narration. I had to speed it up to 1.2x to progress through the book. Regular speed made the story drag. In addition to incorrect pronunciation of locations in Michigan, every time she referred to a pastie (short a sound) as a "pasty", was annoying. As a native of Michigan, this lack of "learning the culture", deters from the enjoyment of the story.

A story of one women role in the miners union.

Other the mispronounced name of Houston Michigan and pasty the reader did a good job. One women's story for growth as a union organizer is very entertaining.

Fascinating tale about a little-known event

As both a Michigander and a fan of Mary Doria Russell, I was thrilled to see that her latest novel took place in Copper Country. Despite growing up in Michigan, I never heard or learned about the Italian Hall disaster in school as a kid. It wasn't until I was a middle-aged adult that I heard of this sad event while at John McCutcheon concert,--who is as talented a storyteller as he is a folk singer. He sang Woody Guthrie's song "1913 Massacre" and had the whole audience sobbing over an incident none of us had ever heard of! Subsequently, I had an opportunity to visit Calumet and it's outstanding museum and also toured one of the long-closed copper mines.
So...I loved this book! Like others mentioned, it was disappointing that the narrator mispronounced the city of Houghton, which is surprising because she took such pains to learn the pronunciation of all the ethnic names of the characters. Nonetheless, this is a compelling story.

Pronounciation is awful.

If you're from Houghton, Calumet, or anywhere in the Keweenaw, do not listen to this. Read it on kindle or hard copy. The pronunciation will drive you nuts. (Howton, paysties, etc.)

Enlightening Story of 1913-14 Copper Country Strike

I am a “ Michigander” (I prefer Michiganian) whose Father was born and raised by a family with deep roots in the Upper Peninsula (UpNorth) in L’Anse & graduated from Michigan Tech University, Houghton. My parental relatives made twice a year pilgrimages UpNorth to visit relatives, indulge in delicious pasties & return with some token of Copper & Mackinaw fudge. My Aunt married a Finn from Copper Harbor and, although he was second generation, he spoke with a very strong Finnish accent as his family spoke no English and he only learned when he went to school. I did not hear of the 1913-1914 Copper Strike even though my Grandfather was a staunch Union man but I had always heard about the Italian Hall tragedy. I was unaware it tied into the Strike, making it even more tragic. As interesting as the story was care should have been taken to learn the correct pronunciation of “Houghton”, “Mackinac” and “pasty”. Every mispronunciation was like fingernails on a chalkboard causing my brain to cringe and shy away from the story and me to correct out loud.