Radium Girls

Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf book club choice n New York Times bestseller n n `Fascinating.' Sunday Times n `Thrilling.' Mail on Sunday n n All they wanted was the chance to shine. n n Be careful what you wish for... n n `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.' n n 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. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous - the girls shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in dust from the paint. n n However, as the years passed, the women began to suffer from mysterious and crippling illnesses. It turned out that the very thing that had made them feel alive - their work - was slowly killing them: the radium paint was poisonous. n n 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. n Drawing on previously unpublished diaries, letters and interviews, The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative of an unforgettable true story. It is the powerful tale of a group of ordinary women from the Roaring Twenties, who themselves learned how to roar. n n n Further praise for The Radium Girls n n 'The importance of the brave and blighted dial-painters cannot be overstated.' Sunday Times n n `A perfect blend of the historical, the scientific and the personal.' Bustle n n `Thrilling and carefully crafted.' Mail on Sunday n