![]() ![]() It is the powerful tale of a group of ordinary women from the Roaring Twenties, who themselves learned how to roar. Drawing on previously unpublished diaries, letters and interviews, The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative of an unforgettable true story. Their employers denied all responsibility, but these courageous women - in the face of unimaginable suffering - refused to accept their fate quietly, and instead became determined to fight for justice. It turned out that the very thing that had made them feel alive - their work - was slowly killing them: the radium paint was poisonous. However, as the years passed, the women began to suffer from mysterious and crippling illnesses. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous - the girls shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in dust from the paint. 'The first thing we asked was, "Does this stuff hurt you?" And they said, "No." The company said that it wasn't dangerous, that we didn't need to be afraid.' As the First World War spread across the world, young American women flocked to work in factories, painting clocks, watches and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. ( From the publisher.Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf book club choice New York Times bestseller 'Fascinating.' Sunday Times 'Thrilling.' Mail on Sunday All they wanted was the chance to shine. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive - until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.īut the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe they light up the night like industrious fireflies. Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War. The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women ![]()
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