This was another fascinating book one of my book groups discussed. It is a shocking, non-fiction book about the women who worked in the factories that produced radium watch dials during World War I. When the Curries discovered radium it was marketed as a wonder drug and great new beauty option and used in many products. The girls who worked in the factory received a higher than normal pay for a job they felt was glamorous and provided for some camaraderie, so the position was highly sought after. People called them “the shining girls” because they glowed from the radium on their clothes and bodies even after washing. The technique used by the ladies was “dip, lip and paint” where the ladies put the radium- filled brushes to their lips to achieve the fine point needed to paint the dials. Soon the women were suffering horrific, permanent and progressing ailments and sometimes death, but they were told time and again that there was no harm with the radium although the owner knew there was. No one had experience with radium, so it took a while for doctors to put two and two together. On a positive note, their struggle did lead to the workers’ rights movement.
What I enjoyed most was learning about these events and time in history. The book could have used some heavy editing because there was a lot of information that wasn’t needed, and it would have been more gripping if the focus had been deeper around the lives of the women. All in all, though, I’m glad that I read this one.
Thank you to Edelweiss for a copy of the book for my honest review.
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