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The Radium Girls
- Narrated by: Kate Moore
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
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Summary
Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf book club choice
New York Times bestseller
All they wanted was the chance to shine.
Be careful what you wish for…
‘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.’
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.
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.
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.
Drawing on previously unpublished diaries, letters and interviews, The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative of an unforgettable true story.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.
Critic reviews
‘Fascinating.’ Sunday Times
‘Thrilling.’ Mail on Sunday
What listeners say about The Radium Girls
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- JanJan
- 16-03-19
Powerful Story Irritating Narration
This is a truly shocking story - I found myself gasping in disbelief at some of the genuinely jaw-dropping (pardon the expression) revelations - and it is its strength that kept me going to the end, in spite of the awful narration.
I can’t profess to be a fan of Kate Moore’s style of writing and. Certainly. Not. Of. Her. Strange. Staccato. Delivery. Terrible, theatrical, over-dramatised narration, which the story does not need; it is dramatic enough on its own (and how does a 30-something woman manage to sound like a 13-year old girl anyway?) I ashoom (sic) she was reading it how she was imagining it when she wrote it.
Some of her pronunciation would have been risible if it weren’t so irritating: ashooming, conshoomer, clappsed, clective, diptheria, becuzz, prehaps… (I could go on.) And while I understand that it was necessary to demonstrate that these were young, vibrant, attractive, fashionable women (I kept having to remind myself they were only in their early 20s) was it really necessary to be told of the physical attributes of (virtually) every person in the book? Was it relevant if a doctor had a bald head and glasses? I don’t think so. I found it really grating on me by about halfway through.
That being said, the account is totally engrossing. The shameless machinations of the companies in trying to protect their reputations and, more importantly, their profits, were staggering! I was entirely unaware of the struggles of these women and of their part both in changing industrial safety regulations and in the greater knowledge of radioactivity and its effects. A powerful story that needed to be told, but probably not by Kate Moore.
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5 people found this helpful
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- michka
- 17-08-19
Excellent
Interesting, thought-provoking, saddening and an important re-telling of a major corporate injustice over years.
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- Karen
- 13-08-23
brilliant telling of an horrific story
highly recommend this book, i had never heard of these girls story before and now i will never forget them
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- Chloe
- 31-01-24
Heartbreaking, horrifying, infuriating, absolutely fantastic!
Numerous times throughout this story, I had to pause it to cry, to breathe through my anger, or to simply process the shock at what I was hearing. The writing is phenomenal. Grace Fryer’s story hit me hardest. This is an important story that more people should know about.
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- June.Reads
- 12-02-22
Powerful
I tried reading thja book and I couldn't due to the topic. Whoever, the audiobook was wonderful. It is a powerful one!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ceej
- 17-09-20
Loved it
The reviews here nearly put me off but I’m so glad they didn’t. I really enjoyed this. The story is absolutely gripping. Harrowing but so human and compelling. The author’s delivery is a bit slow but I speeded her up: the wonder of audible! After a couple of hours, the girls were already falling sick and I wondered how on earth the tale could be stretched out for several more hours but the ensuing legal battles had me hooked. A great book!
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- miss c l walton
- 25-10-20
I had no idea
I had no idea the struggle these girls endured. thank you for writing this well written book! truly inspiring
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- Lynnie
- 28-02-19
Shocking but excellent
I think this is the most shocking story I have heard for a long time. I learnt so much about radium poisoning and the terrible effects it had on those poor ladies. Written with tenderness and compassion and the excellent narration enhanced the listening experience enormously. The subject was a difficult one, however I wanted and needed to keep listening and even though I was brought to tears on more than one occasion I just had to keep on listening. If I could give more stars I would. I highly recommend this book.
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- Trax UK
- 08-03-19
Horrific story of corporate lies and human suffering
All my life I accepted being able to read the time on watches in the dark without fully appreciating the history and science behind it. I am amazed and truly horrified at the story of its coming into being and perhaps my naivety at the way companies treat their employees with utter contempt, feeding them lies and deceit and covering up the truth at all cost. A very well researched and written book that I found ‘unputdownable’ though the content is often beyond belief.
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- Mrspatriciacherry
- 01-03-19
It left me in awe of those women.
I listened to this book in shock, awe and could hardly get over the way that these women were ignored.
Another example of the way that huge corporations lie to consumers and we the general public.
A lesson has to be learnt about not wholly trusting what we are told. Fortunately these days w have the wherewithal and the chance to research, research, research.
We had the tobacco industry doing the same thing, and in our present age, the Food and Pharmacy corporations.
As individuals, we have to make informed choices.
In the days of the Radium girls, they were totally at the mercy of these liars, but now, at least we can make some amount of choice.
We are the only individuals who can take care of what choices we make.
Of course we sometimes have to trust the people who are in authority, and we are still vulnerable to who we consider as those who know best. The question is, who are the ones to trust?
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