NEW! Jennifer Chiaverini's The Canary Girls: A Novel
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Jennifer Chiaverini's The Canary Girls: A Novel
Item #: 416755
Rosie the Riveter meets A League of Their Own in New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini’s vibrant novel about the “munitionettes” who crafted bombs in Britain’s factories during World War I, risking everything for the war effort and finding friendship and strength on the football field.
As the Great War began, men left Britain’s factories to fight, and women stepped in to fill their roles. Their rallying cry: Be the Girl Behind the Man Behind the Gun.
Thousands of women—cooks, maids, shopgirls, and housewives—answered the call. These “munitionettes” endured long hours handling explosives with minimal protection.
One of them is young housemaid April Tipton. Attracted by better wages, cozy accommodations, and ample food, she takes a job at Thornshire Arsenal near London, working in the Danger Building—challenging, hazardous, and crucial work.
Joining April and her friend Marjorie—another former housemaid—is Lucy Dempsey, wife of Daniel Dempsey, Olympic gold medalist and Tottenham Hotspur star. With Daniel serving in the Footballers’ Battalion, Lucy decides to contribute to the war effort.
When her colleagues learn she is a footballer’s wife, they invite her to join the arsenal ladies’ football club, the Thornshire Canaries.
The Canaries gain an unexpected supporter in the boss’s wife, Helen Purcell, who is disturbed by reports of unexplained illnesses among Danger Building workers.
A common symptom, the bright yellow tint of their skin, earns them the nickname “canary girls.” Suspecting a link between the illnesses and the chemicals they use,
Helen becomes the munitionettes’ most steadfast, albeit often underappreciated, advocate.
The football field becomes a place where class barriers and worries for their men fade away.
As the war drags on and tragedy strikes, the Canary Girls endure despite the risks, proud to serve, determined to survive the war, and celebrate victory and peace.
432 pages
by Jennifer Chiaverini
Best New Historical Fiction – August 2023. From a prolific and masterful historical novelist, CANARY GIRLS by Jennifer Chiaverini sheds light on the lives of munitionettes during WWI, revealing the sacrifices made by ‘the girls behind the men with guns.’
