My BOOKS
The Woman They Could Not Silence
1860: As the clash between the states rolls slowly to a boil, Elizabeth Packard, housewife and mother of six, is facing her own battle. The enemy sits across the table and sleeps in the next room. Her husband of twenty-one years is plotting against her because he feels increasingly threatened--by Elizabeth's intellect, independence, and unwillingness to stifle her own thoughts. So Theophilus makes a plan to put his wife back in her place. One summer morning, he has her committed to an insane asylum.
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The horrific conditions inside the Illinois State Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, are overseen by Dr. Andrew McFarland, a man who will prove to be even more dangerous to Elizabeth than her traitorous husband. But most disturbing is that Elizabeth is not the only sane woman confined to the institution. There are many rational women on her ward who tell the same story: they've been committed not because they need medical treatment, but to keep them in line--conveniently labeled "crazy" so their voices are ignored.
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No one is willing to fight for their freedom and, disenfranchised both by gender and the stigma of their supposed madness, they cannot possibly fight for themselves. But Elizabeth is about to discover that the merit of losing everything is that you then have nothing to lose...
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The Radium Girls
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.
Felix:
The Railway Cat
**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER - AS SEEN ON THE ONE SHOW**
It will make you laugh and it will make you cry: Felix The Railway Cat is the extraordinary tale of a close-knit community and its amazing bond with a very special cat.
'The global sensation' Daily Telegraph
When Felix arrived at Yorkshire's Huddersfield Train Station as an eight-week-old kitten, no one knew just how important this little ball of fluff would become. Although she has a vital job to do as 'Senior Pest Controller', Felix is much more than just an employee of TransPennine Express. Felix changes lives in surprising ways.
She is always ready to leap into action and save the day: from bringing a boy with autism out of his shell to providing comfort to a runaway child shivering on the platform one night. So when tragedy hits the team at Huddersfield, it is only Felix who can pull them back together.
But a chance friendship with a commuter that she waits for her on the platform every morning finally gives Felix the recognition she deserves, catapulting her to international stardom . . .
Royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Prostate Cancer UK (registered charity 1005541, SC039332).
The Radium Girls
Curl up with the wonderfully cosy SUNDAY TIMES bestselling tale of the exciting adventures of Felix and Bolt!
'FULL OF FUNNY AND HEART-WARMING STORIES' Sunday Express
Felix, Senior Pest Controller at Huddersfield station, has been at the heart of a close-knit community since the day she arrived as a kitten.
But now, having risen to fame, everyday life at the station has become rather hectic; while reporters and fans clamour for a glimpse of her, Felix and her human co-workers find themselves, and the station, in quite a whirlwind.
With the job seemingly too big for one fluffy feline to handle, it seems only sensible to recruit a young apprentice to the team: enter, Bolt.
Full of funny and heart-warming stories, with personal tales from Felix's biggest fans, this is the remarkable tale of Felix and Bolt, the ultimate pest-controlling duo.
**AS SEEN ON THE ONE SHOW & GOOD MORNING BRITAIN**
