Factory Witches of Lowell
Hannah Pickering and Judith Whitaker are the leaders among a group of mill girls fighting back against the intensification of production at their mill in Lowell. When the owners’ representative raises the girls’ boarding-house rent while cutting their weekly pay, the girls use magic to bind themselves into a union. As they work together, Judith finds that her organizing wisdom and determination fit well with Hannah’s magic Sight. The two are drawn to each other, connecting through magic as they work to hold the union together through a strike.
Unfolding within the eponymous mill town over a few weeks in 1840, The Factory Witches of Lowell is a fast-paced yet character-driven book; the characters are not deeply established, but the depth of feeling between them is nicely sketched. Neither Hannah nor Judith develops very much over the course of the story. Where the novel really shines is in the portrayals of two supporting characters: the keeper of the girls’ boarding house, Mrs. Hanson, and Mr. Boott, the owners’ agent, whose descriptions and motivations are given their due with some good writing.
The Factory Witches of Lowell is a light, quick afternoon read. It succeeds at that. I did wonder what a story from Mrs. Hanson’s perspective would be like, but that is not this novel. Recommended for those looking for an inspirational novel, and those wanting a peek at the life of the mill girls who powered the U.S.’s industrialization. Anyone really seeking a novel about the territory where deep platonic female friendship crosses into love should look for another book.
