Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini

September 8, 2023

Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini

At the outset of World War I, three women from different backgrounds all sign up for war work at a munitions plant just outside London. Two are assigned to shell assembly while the third carves out a place in administration as welfare supervisor. Shell assembly involves handling TNT which turns the women's skin yellow and their hair orange (hence the name canary girls). To keep up morale, the munitionettes form a football (soccer) team and compete against teams from other plants.

This has been described as Rosie the Riveter meets A League of Their Own, and I think that's a fair description. It's a look at the home front during World War I: doing war work, coping with rationing, trying to keep up morale while worrying about loved one serving at the front. The story was slow moving. I'm not really into sports (especially not soccer), so I skimmed over the parts of soccer matches and plays. Also, I think I could assemble an artillery shell from the repeated descriptions of the work. I think one of the reasons that I didn't love this more is that I'm tired of World War I and World War II fiction. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction or fiction about women's lives.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Two canary girls

Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters by Jennifer Chiaverini

June 3, 2020

Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters by Jennifer Chiaverini

Before she married Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd was one of the Todd sisters, the belles of Lexington, KY, society.  Ten years after her husband's assassination, Mary is estranged from her family and displaying increasingly erratic behavior.  Her only surviving son Robert has no choice but to have her committed to a sanatorium for her own safety.

Mary Todd was from the prominent Todd family, active in politics and friendly with most of the major politicians of the day.  Mary had five siblings and nine half-siblings; three sisters and one half sister feature in the book.  Mary's sisters had long been aware of her self-centeredness, manipulative nature, and almost pathological need to be the center of attention.  Today, we would call Mary a drama queen - she loved drama, and if there wasn't any, she would create some by blowing a minor snub out of proportion.  Mary's sisters' families referred to her as "Crazy Aunt Mary."

Most of the photographs of Mary Todd Lincoln that have survived show a rather dumpy over-dressed unhappy looking woman, so it is hard for modern readers to believe that she was once considered to be one of the most beautiful and sought after young women in Kentucky and Illinois.  The tragedies that Mary experienced after her marriage certainly contributed to her mental crises, but in the 19th century, it was unfortunately all too common to lose several children and have one's husband die (although not many were assassinated in front of their wives).

The story line moves back and forth between Mary's youth and her chaotic widowhood.  The story drags a bit in the middle, but anyone interested in MTL will be interested in the women who grew up with Mary and knew her best.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.