In a couple of weeks, I’ll be welcoming saga author Michelle Rawlins to my blog for the first time, so it seems appropriate to give her an introduction here to those of you who haven’t yet come across her, by sharing my thoughts on her debut saga, The Steel Girls.
The first thing to say about Michelle is that she isn’t simply a novelist. She is an accomplished and experienced journalist and she has written Women of Steel, which recounts the real-life stories of some of the brave women who worked in the steel industry during the Second World War… so it’s no surprise that she chose to use the knowledge she gleaned from these first-hand accounts as the basis for her saga.
The story follows the fortunes of Betty, Nancy and Patty through the weeks leading up to the declaration of war in 1939 and from then through the opening weeks of wartme, when they sign up to work as steel girls. Of the three of them, my personal favourite was Nancy. She had a lot to cope with and her sense of struggle was very true to life. I rooted for her from the start and was glad to watch her grow in confidnce.
All three of the friends grow and develop as characters, not just because of the ups and downs in their personal and family lives but also because of what they have to face in their day-to-day working lives at Vickers, including prejudice and resistance from some of the men.
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The story is rich in the detail of the era. Michelle is clearly very knowledgeable but she delivers her nuggets of knowledge with a light touch that is natural and highly readable. This warm-hearted, engrossing tale of friendship and courage is a lovely start to what promises to be an excellent series.
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Michelle's author page on Amazon
Michelle's page on Twitter
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