I’m back with my first book review of the year where today I’m talking all about The Jam Factory Girls by Mary Wood. This was a new author for me so it always comes with a bit of a risk, but let’s get on with the review…

The Blurb

Life for Elsie is difficult as she struggles to cope with her alcoholic mother. Caring for her siblings and working long hours at Swift’s Jam factory in London’s Bermondsey is exhausting. Thankfully her lifelong friendship with Dot helps to smooth over life’s rough edges.

When Elsie and Dot meet Millie Swift, they are nervous to be in the presence of the bosses’ daughter. Over time, they are surprised to feel so drawn to her, but should two East End girls be socializing in such circles.

When disaster strikes, it binds the women in ways they could never imagine. Long-held secrets are revealed that could change all their lives…

My Thoughts

As mentioned above, Mary Wood was an author I hadn’t come across before picking up this book. They say you should never judge a book by its cover, however in this instance, that’s exactly what I did. I was drawn to it because there was a sticker on the front saying The People’s Friend magazine recommends. Whilst this is usually a magazine for the more mature audience, I did always enjoy reading nans copy as a teenager. I especially loved their short stories, so if they recommended a book, I felt like I ought to give it a try.

If you’ve been around here for a while, you will probably have noticed that most of the books I read are set during the second world war. I do occasionally throw some set during the first world war into the mix too. However, this book is set in the earl 1910s, pre any world wars. What drew me to the story was the industrial side to it in the form of the jam factory. I was interested to get reading and find out what life was like for the workers.

One thing I wasn’t expected was how much I would come to love the characters within the book. I really felt at home with them. Feeling compelled to keep on reading in the hope they kept on fighting for survival. A theme that really made me feel alive was the fight for women’s rights. Even more so, the fight for the rights of all those women who worked in the factories. This was something that featured both subtlety and more aggressively throughout the book. To me, it really hit home just how far we as a nation have come.

There was a darker, more sinister side to the book

Sexual assault and murder were both featured in parts. Whilst it’s never nice to read in a way, it was portrayed in such a way that it got to the reader without making you want to stop reading the book.

I don’t feel like this book had a happy ending as such due to the nature of some of what took place. However, I do think it was more of a real life ending. The message I took away from the book is that even through the darkest of times, life does go on. It also proved to me that life is very much what you make it.

One thing I wanted to point out before I end this review is the speed of the book. I did feel that it was very rushed in the middle. I think so much went into the first part of the book. Things such as descriptions of working conditions, the lives of the characters etc where all described in-depth. It then felt like some of the events in the middle came out of nowhere. However maybe that is how the author intended it to be. Towards the end, I feel it jumped about a bit but it did set it up for the next book.

Final Thoughts

There are three books in the series as I write this. I’m going to keep an eye out for the other two because like I said earlier, I felt such a connection with the characters. I’d love to know how the story continues. As for Mary Wood as an author, I’d definitely like to try some more of her books because I feel that she has a very distinctive way of writing which I enjoy. I don’t usually give the books I read an actual rating but I would go as far to say this is one of the better books I’ve read.

Other posts you might enjoy:

Outcast Child By Kitty Neale

Mother’s Only Child by Anne Bennett

Water Gypsies by Annie Murray