Customer Reviews

The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The next time I complain about MY job, I'll try and spend a moment thinking about what it was like to work in the mills described in this excellent book. Deafness, arthritis caused by repetitive hand motion, young children put to work because their families were desperate for money, fires in the mill, job-related injuries, long hours of work, poor ventiliation and light - you name it.

I heard about this book while watching C-Span and today I'm ordering a copy for a friend in New England whose long-ago relatives came from Canada to work in the mills.

It has strengthened my resolve to visit Lowell, Mass. and see what has been preserved.

It's fascinating and enjoyable to read - I'm just glad I didn't have to live through the experience myself. Highly recommended.

Very few books give enough credit, in my opinion, to the important role women played in the development of American society. French Canadian women are probably at the very end of a long line of feminist ethnic groups frequently overlooked for the formidable standard they set, later a prototype characterized by Rosie the Riveter during America's darkest days during the middle of the last century. The Belles of New England is a well researched history about the development of New England's dinosaur textile and shoe industries and how hard working immigrant women made moguls of their owners. Although the Franco-American woman were a large workforce in these now largely empty brick buildings, hopelessly stuck on the landscape of New England towns, they weren't the only ones to contribute to the industrial age success of these mega-industries. Still, Franco-American women were unusual. Largely from Quebec, they raised extraordinarily large families while working labor jobs to raise money for their extended families. Franco-Americans are different than other American ethnic melting pot varieties in that they could always go home again, to Canada, by train or by foot. But, they stayed, raised their families and contributed to the wealth of a few industrialists who probably never said thank you. So, author Bill Moran has said in "Belles" what the moguls couldn't even conceptualize if their lives depended on it to do so. Nice selection of historic photos, too. Moran gives long overdue credit to the women who helped make New England prosperous.

A fascinating topic with many parallels to today's influx of immigrants and the goal of gender-equality in the work place. This book is written the way history books should be written: readable and entertaining, and therefore informative and thought-provoking. Pay no attention to pedantic criticisms that author Moran is not a "historian" but rather a journalists; that is nonsense. Just read, learn, and enjoy.

Unfortunately this book is filled with historical errors and myths. This journalist did not do his homework. Not only are there several inaccuracies, but the author appears not to be acquainted with the last thirty years of research in women's history. Don't be fooled by the fact that the author writes well, this book is not for use in a classroom or for research. Sorry.

For years, growing up in Massachusetts, I would pass these giant mills in cities such as Lowell, New Bedford or Fall River, wondering about the history. This book brings it to life--the workers' struggles, triumphs and incredible strength and perserverance. Anyone interested in reading about labor history, the struggle of the working class, how capitalism can spin out of control, etc., should read this book. The next time you pass one of these mills, you will stop and think about these brave, hardworking women.

This was another winner for me. I am from Lawrence, Mass and I try to read everything about the area. This book deals with Lowell but it also covers Lawrence - the Bread and Roses strike and the Pemberton Mill disaster. So far this book contains the the most detail that I have been able to find on the Pemberton Mill disaster. If you are interested in Lawrence, Mass. you might also like to check out Bruce Watson's "Bread and Roses" or for a lighter and more fun read my book "A Summer with Charlie" A Summer with Charliewhich is about growing up in Lawrence in the 60s. I also cover the Bread and Roses strike in an appendix at the end of the book.

Richard Edward Noble - The Hobo Philosopher - Author of:

"A Summer with Charlie"

Although there are some very interesting tidbits to learn about the New England cotton mills written in Moran's Belles of New England, there was very little about the GIRLS themselves. The author takes you way beyond the life of the girls and digresses heavily into the realms of the mill owners, and of the many immigrants who traveled from Europe for various reasons, coming to America to gain jobs in the textile industry. Briefly mentioning why the immigrants were important would have been plenty, but the reader must endure long paragraphs of the history of Ellis Island and that immigrant story as well. You find unending pages regarding why the Irish immigrants came to the mills after leaving their homeland out of desperation caused by the potato famine crisis. Another chapter with ongoing descriptions on why the French Canadians similarly crossed the border at a time when their economic status sent people scurrying for mill jobs, was also very tedious to read. All of this could have been condensed down to a few passages explaining why this was essential to the story of the mills, not a hundred pages of it!

This historic account takes place before the Civil War when issues of slavery in the South played a great part for the cotton mill factories. But again, the author spent way too much time informing the reader of the New England views on slavery, and how this effected local areas who were either for or against abolition including personal views from the local people questioning the right to use slaves to pick the cotton they wove. Some of this is of course relevant to the importance and history of the mills, but not to the extent the author injects into this book.

I was greatly disappointed in this book due to all the other miscellaneous historical facts I wasn't expecting to get. I really was looking for a book full of quotes, memoirs and descriptive details pertaining to the thousands of women who worked 14 hour days by the sweat of their brow running the machines and living in communal boarding houses. The initial plan from the fore founders was to provide a society for female self improvement that would allow the ladies to become financially independent and in turn help them to move on to going to school to better their lives. I did not get very much of that at all. I found that these pages and pages, chapters and chapters filled with nonpertinent trivial history more than enough for anyone interested in the women's part of this story.

I also feel the need to comment on the hundreds of typing errors in this book. It was truly deplorable how many mistakes there were! The book needed severe editing! If you are a woman, or researcher who is looking for a good deal of information on the women in the mills, I can't say I'd recommend this book at all. If you want a book full of just plain history of the people and the places where the mills are located, and how these people affected New England manufacturing, politics and society in the early 19th century, you might get something out of it. I believe the title was very misleading and can't say on the whole I enjoyed this book.

Learned a lot about this period in history. The writing was very good and the book kept my interest throughout.

This is a very well written and interesting book about New England Textile industry and the role of women during that period of time. It also addresses the role of immigrants as they merge into our society. I really enjoyed this book for the history and the excellent writing skills.