The Women of the Copper Country (Review)
My Review
The author, Mary Doria Russell writes a very informative book taking place in the copper-mining town of Calumet, Michigan from
June 1913 through mid 1914. This is a very well researched book.
Calumet was a very poor area, men worked sun up til sun down in the mines crippling their backs and getting black lung. What other choice did they have, money was so scarce they barely had the pennies to feed their children . With the dissatisfaction of mining conditions the women of Calumet, led by Annie, who becomes our Joan of Arc, take a stand for the miners they back them up but at what cost?
This book is just amazing the strength of the women to stand up for what is right especially Annie who forms The Women’s Auxiliary of the Western Federation of Miners. The book also covers a Christmas Eve accident resulting in the death of many children, which is a real tragedy.
Though fiction the author is able to express the sorrow and
despair of this long ago time. I will be reading more books by this author. Published August 6th 2019 by Atria Books I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you. All opinions expressed are my own.
GoodReads Summary
In July 1913, twenty-five-year-old Annie Clements had seen enough of the world to know that it was unfair. She’s spent her whole life in the copper-mining town of Calumet, Michigan where men risk their lives for meager salaries—and had barely enough to put food on the table and clothes on their backs. 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. When Annie decides to stand up for herself, and the entire town of Calumet, nearly everyone believes she may have taken on more than she is prepared to handle. In Annie’s hands lie the miners’ fortunes and their health, her husband’s wrath over her growing independence, and her own reputation as she faces the threat of prison and discovers a forbidden love. On her fierce quest for justice, Annie will discover just how much she is willing to sacrifice for her own independence and 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 men and women of the early 20th century labor movement, and of a turbulent, violent political landscape that may feel startlingly relevant to today.
About The Author
Born
in The United States
Website
http://www.marydoriarussell.net/
Genre
Science Fiction & Fantasy, Literature & Fiction
Mary Doria Russell is an American author. She was born in 1950 in the suburbs of Chicago. Her parents were both in the military; her father was a Marine Corps drill sergeant, and her mother was a Navy nurse. She holds a Ph.D. in Paleoanthropology from the University of Michigan, and has also studied cultural anthropology at the University of Illinois, and social anthropology at Northeastern University in Boston. Russell lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her husband Don and their two dogs. Mary is shy about online stuff like Goodreads, but she responds to all email, and would prefer to do that through her website. Photo by Jeff Rooks
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