Lead Review (The Toffee Factory Girls)
- Book: The Toffee Factory Girls
- Location: Chester-le-Street
- Author: Glenda Young
This novel is set in 1915, when WW1 was raging, and boys and young men were heading off to war. The women left behind had to fill the extra gaps, and thus three young women, in different capacities, find themselves working at Jack’s Toffee Factory in Chester-le-Street. Here, the owner takes care of his workers, an anomaly in the period.
These are plucky young women, who have to find their way through everyday life. Irascible landlords, threatening behaviours, wayward family members and generally learning to face the hardships of the time. Together, the women – Anne, Hetty and Elsie – are a force of nature, determined to do right by others…
The author really does an excellent job of researching the setting and period and if you follow her on Social Media you can join her on her research adventures. Just imagine! All the toffees had to wrapped in paper by hand and the logo had to be straight and just so. She describes the Durham Light Infantry heading off too (until 2016 there was a museum dedicated to the brigade, founded in 1758, although there are rumours of a new museum opening in the future). In Birtley, there was a Belgian village – Elizabethville – that was built around the needs of an armaments factory, populated by French and Walloon speakers, with their own school, cafe and hospital. These elements are incorporated into the storyline to add veracity and a sense of history.
This is the first in a trilogy. The novel is easy to read and bowls along at a good pace, with drama aplenty.
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