Daughter of the Loom by Peterson and Miller

Mrs. Patricia Libero, our Board of Education Chairwoman (and Mrs. Gardner's aunt and long-time friend of my Dad's), donated several books to the WHHS LMC upon cleaning out her mother's home library.  Some were added to our collection, some were donated to the Public Library, some are now part of the book tree (yes, it's back!), and a few came home with me.  This was one that I chose to take home.

I have family ties to Lowell, Mass.  My grandfather was given up at birth in Cambridge.  He bounced around foster homes and orphanages until he turned 18 and joined the Navy.  One the places he was fostered was in Lowell.  And by fostered, I mean he was child labor for an upholsterer.  So, naturally, I was intrigued by the description on the cover about the Industrial Revolution and the mills of Lowell.  This is the first in a series, of which there are 3.  All of them will be added to our collection in the LMC.

Lilly is the youngest child of a farmer in what was East Chelmsford, now Lowell.  Sadly, her parents are now both deceased and Lewis, her older brother and a gambling addict, has sold off the farm to the factory investors.  Lilly has no choice but to seek work in the mills she despises.  Worse, she learns her former love is one of the investors. 

Lilly is on a mission, one she believes God has set for her, to sabotage the mills from within while earning enough to survive.  She befriends the matron of her boarding house and the other miller women living there.  Lilly is not the only one out to ruin the mills though.  I won't spoil any more. 

This was a pretty quick read, done in an afternoon.  Be aware, there is much conversation about God and being Christian, just in case that's not your cup of tea.

My one wish is that there was more background information given in this piece of historical fiction. 

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