We examine how women and children suffered chronic occupational diseases and disabling industrial injuries – life changing and life shortening – and often a one-way ticket to the workhouse. This long overdue and much-needed book also covers the social reformers, the role of feminism and activism and the various Factory Acts and trade unionism. Many women, and children, were obliged to take up work in the mills and factories – long hours, dangerous, often toxic conditions, monotony, bullying, abuse and miserly pay were the usual hallmarks of a day’s work – before they headed homeward to their other job: keeping home and family together. Without women there would have been no pre-industrial cottage industries, without women the Industrial Revolution would not have been nearly as industrial and nowhere near as revolutionary. This book charts the unhappy but aspirational story of women and children at work through the Industrial Revolution to 1914. Young children were also put to work in factories and coalmines they were deployed inside chimneys, often half-starved so that they could shin up ever narrower flues. What is perhaps less well known is that women also worked underground in coal mines and overground scaling the inside of chimneys. Josanne La Valley passed away shortly after her book was published.Ever since there have been factories, women and children have, more often than not, worked in those factories. Thoughts about the author from her friend. This book could be used in either a literature, history, or cultural studies class, as a case study of a minority culture. Making students aware of the existence this group is incredibly important to assuring that their autonomy is protected. Overall, this book would be a good introduction to the culture of the Ugyhurs, a vulnerable minority group in China. Furthermore, although probably accurate of the culture the author intended to represent, I was immensely frustrated by the patriarchal society that resulted in Roshen consistently feeling inferior to the male figures in her life. For example, she mistrusts the girls from the city immediately and does not try to get to know them before passing judgement. However, a weaker aspect of this novel was Roshen’s self-righteousness that at times translated into an unjustified prejudiced view towards girls, who did not observe the same exact cultural traditions as her. Thus, I was shocked to learn of their plight and hope that this book may serve to educate others about the plight of Uyghurs, like it did for me.
Furthermore, I very much enjoyed learning about Uyghur culture because I had never been exposed to this culture before reading Factory Girls. I found this to be a rather inspiring message because it implied that it is possible to find strength even in seemingly hopeless situations. I found the character growth intriguing, particularly Roshen’s: she goes from being focused primarily on her own well-being to becoming a strong leader figure for the other Uyghurs. This novel was well-written and a pleasure to read. However, whether they will be able to return to their homeland and families is something only time will tell. Yet, Roshen is determined to not lose her identity and forms a close camaraderie with the other girls sent to the factory. The Chinese government does not approve of the Uyghur culture and wishes to force assimilation, particularly by sending their children to work in factories where they face deplorable conditions. However, all of this is interrupted when she is chosen to be sent to a Chinese factory in the south of China. Roshen dreams of becoming a teacher and continuing to pass on her culture to the next generation, like those before her. Factory Girl chronicles the story of Roshen, a sixteen-year- old Uyghur girl from northern China.
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