What is the price of copper? This is the price of copper: a dead man. Every week. Month after month. Year after year.

Annie Clements has spent her whole life in the copper mining town of Calumet, Michigan. It’s a company town, owned by Calumet & Hecla Mining Company, and by 1913 it is a teaming metropolis of forty thousand residents, speaking over 30 different languages. Approximately 15,000 men worked Copper Country mines in 10–12 hour shifts in brutal and dangerous conditions. They were often first-generation immigrants from Croatia, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Slovenia, and more. As unskilled laborers, their employment options were limited. On average, one worker per week died in the mines. [https://bentley.umich.edu/news-events/magazine/the-copper-line/]

After yet another miner’s death, Annie rallies wives, mothers and daughters to convince their men to strike for better wages and safer work conditions. Annie’s husband Joe is unimpressed, particularly when he sees how strong his wife is, and how others are prepared to follow her.

The majority of characters and events in this book are true, and it’s impossible for a twenty first century reader to even imagine what life was like for these people. Unions were seen by many as trouble-makers; at funerals union members sat on one side of the church, non-members on the other. Homes were divided.

The daily peaceful marches, led by Annie Clements carrying an enormous American flag, were eventually met with brutal force; professional strike-breakers brought in by the general manager of C&H, James MacNaughton. The brutality shown towards women and children is truly horrific. The political machinations involved in this battle between the largest copper mining company in the world and poor, migrant workers wanting a fair deal, made my blood boil!

Where would we be without incredible leaders like Annie Clements? Russell wanted to tell the women’s stories, as so much is told from the male perspective. When asked if it is all worth while, Annie answers: ‘Maybe not for us. Maybe not even for anyone alive today. But we plant the seeds of justice, and justice will rise out of all this muck someday. I believe that. I believe in the future. I do. One day life will be better for the ones who come after us’.

Russell is the author of one of my favourite books, [b:The Sparrow|334176|The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1)|Mary Doria Russell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1230829367l/334176.SY75.jpg|3349153]. She has written another novel full of memorable characters, who face adversity with fortitude and grace. My review does not do this book justice - I can’t recommend it highly enough!

I must confess my knowledge of the historic events that are the heart of this novel is somewhat sketchy, so if there are any inaccuracies, I am blissfully unaware!
I loved our initially timid heroine Agnes Shanklin. It’s 1920, she is 40 years old and has not lived at all, having been kept firmly under her mother’s thumb. The Spanish flu leaves her totally alone in the world, apart from her fearless companion, Rosie, a dachshund who accompanies her on the adventure of a lifetime.
There is a wonderful scene where Agnes overcomes her reservations and enters a fashionable department store to purchase some up-to-date clothes. The irrepressible Mildred takes her (and Rosie) in hand and in a laugh-out-loud episode, introduces Agnes to the fashions of the day.
From here on, Mildred is a constant positive voice in Agnes’ head, subduing the other (negative) voice in her head, which is her mother’s. Mildred gives her courage.
This is a fantastic novel about a women finding herself in a turbulent, changing world. Agnes is a witness to events in Cairo that would change the world, and rubs shoulders with the likes of T. E. Lawrence and Winston Churchill, and, in the process, discovers herself.
Perfect related text for HSC Journeys.