There is nothing quite like curling up with a page-turning saga on a cold winter day and if you are looking for a new author to add to your list, then look no further than Chrissie Walsh’s outstanding debut novel, The Girl from the Mill. Written straight from the heart, this gripping and gutsy saga is good old-fashioned storytelling at its absolute finest!

In a dingy Yorkshire town like Garsthwaite, employment opportunities are scarce, prospects are limited and the only way food can be put on the table and into children’s bellies is by working at the mill. The work is physically demanding and back-breaking, the wages an absolute pittance and the conditions woefully inadequate. Yet, the community of Garsthwaite doesn’t have any other choice but to clock in and out of the mill everyday and endure the drudgery and hardship as best they can. Lacey Barraclough is a hard-working lass who, alongside her fellow weavers, works her fingers to the bone, trying to fight for better conditions for herself and her fellow colleagues. Yet, this is no easy feat. The struggles of the poor are of no interest to the rich capitalists who prioritise profit margins and sales figures over their employees’ health. Lacey has certainly got a lot on her plate, however, she certainly had never counted on falling head over heels in love with Nathan, the boss’s son. Despite the vast social chasm that divides them, Lacey and Nathan find themselves attracted to one another. However, there are so many obstacles standing in their way that a future for the two of them seems absolutely impossible…or does it?

When war is declared, Nathan feels compelled to do his duty for king and country and enlists to fight. Nathan’s selfless act of patriotism ends up crushing all of Lacey’s hopes and dreams for their future together yet she knows that she simply could not stand in his way. The First World War shows no sign of abating, leaving Lacey with no other option but to find a new way to face the future. When hard times come to Garsthwaite, Lacey cannot help but wonder whether all those brave men who had gone to defeat the enemy on foreign soil will have a home to get back to – and whether she will ever see the man whom she loves with all of her heart again…

Will Lacey and Nathan ever find their way back to one another? Or will their love end up being another casualty of a merciless war?

The Girl from the Mill is a thoroughly enjoyable historical saga that is impossible to put down. Chrissie Walsh has written an emotional, evocative and enthralling read set in the earlier part of the 20th century with a wonderful heroine who is strong, loyal and ambitious whom readers will admire and cheer for.

A romantic, heart-breaking and captivating read, The Girl from the Mill is a terrific saga aficionados of the genre are going to devour. Chrissie Walsh’s debut novel is impressive, wonderfully written and sure to delight fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin.

Amazing read! The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Lacey Barraclough works as a weaver in a textile mill. The working conditions are horrible. She and her fellow workers fight for justice. She finds her support in her friend. She is so busy and the work is so intense that she barely has time to think. That is, until she meets Nathan Brearley. England is on the brink of war and the two soon fall in love. But then Nathan enlists......

How will Lace and Nathan cope apart? Will they see each other again?
I was drawn in from the start of the book and it was so atmospheric. Immediately, I could tell there were hard times and Lacey is strong, smart and conscious of her own reality and of that of those around her. tough, whip smart, and socially conscious. She is far from passive in her fight to improve the conditions and unions for herself and her fellow workers. She never stops fighting for what she thinks is right.


Chrissie Walsh has written an amazing debut novel and dared to mix the genres of romance, historical fiction with a wartime atmosphere and social class realities and conflicts. The plots make for an interesting, fast-paced book with short chapters which made me want to move forward. There are so many characters yet each has their own voice and personality. There are good and bad times in the book and I recommend it.

4 stars.

Thanks to Chrissie Walsh and Aria for my ARC copy in exchange for an honest and voluntary review and my slot on the blog tour for this title.

The Girl From The Mill is an historical family saga set in Yorkshire during World War I.

The story centres around textile mill employee Lacey Barraclough. Lacey is a loyal but ambitious young woman, who plays her part in fighting for the better working rights for herself and her fellow women workers.

Lacey is also an accomplished seamstress and it’s not long before her skills are noticed by prominent  woman in the Garsthwaite community. In her personal life, Lacey has caught the eye of Nathan Brearley, the mill owner’s son, but their difference in class is hard to overcome.

When the war breaks out, changes occur on the home front. Families must survive without menfolk, there are new bargaining powers at the mills for the workers, and Lacey’s own life changes when she marries Nathan.

This is an easy read story filled with nostalgia from the era and plenty of local colloquialisms. Ideal for those who enjoy historical style family sagas.

I would firstly like to thank Aria for asking me to review The Girl From The Mill and to be apart of the blog tour. From reading the blurb I was very interested to read this book and to discover a new author.
The plot starts off with a big power for women moment. Our heroine Lacey is working in the mill in sweltering heat and after several of her women collapsing decides to encourage her fellow works to stand up for what is right, but will take all the blame herself. It such a great start to this read and an important moment in this era. We continue to get to know our heroine throughout the book, as she falls in laugh and has to fight for her college rights and her own as divides in society become relevant. The war I find is such a great back story to a plot and in this story it creates great tension for the love story.
The Girl From The Mill is a well written book and perfect for fans of Dilly Court or Val Wood. It has a different feel to it from other historical fiction books that I have read but this is not a bad thing. It makes it stand out from the crowd as the authors knowledge shines through.

This is a warm and wonderful read that will take you on a journey of life, love, growth and acceptance. It will blur boundaries between class systems and overcome prejudice notions as life and war change points of view.

At the heart of this battle is Lacey Barraclough, a feisty and lively girl with a head and a heart to change the well-being of those around her. I loved Lacey as a character, her strength and determination are without doubt admirable and I championed her on with every milestone she overcome. She certainly is the heart and soul at the centre of this story.

This book delivers many marvellous characters who shape and mould the story into what it is. I particularly loved the relationship between Lacey and Constance. Their journey was by far the toughest with many mountains to climb in order to reach peace, harmony and mutual respect towards one another.

But what story is complete without love? Lacey and Nathan are the definition of star-crossed lovers with strength and determination to overcome all the odds to save their relationship. Love blossoms on Cuckoo Hill and their journey is one to believe in.

This story drew me in with its passion for love and change. I loved every minute of my time spent watching Lacey open the eyes and minds of a town around her and I highly recommend this book. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Excellent book, really did enjoy this and the story. I do like history books set in older times and this was one of the better ones I have read. Can highly recommend this.

Lacey Barraclough is a simple farmer’s daughter, working a loom in the woollen mill and completely aware of the differences between ‘them and us’, even as she refuses to believe that she, or any of the women she works with are less than anyone else in town. And being the year before the outbreak of World War I, while the class systems and society is changing, there’s still plenty of discrimination to be found. Of particular interest to Lacey is her own skill with a needle, and the news of suffragettes and those working for equal rights. Her sewing skills are a mix of her own ideas and designs cobbled from fashion magazines that her mother brings home from the houses she cleans, and while things aren’t luxe, Lacey and her family manage to make ends meet with her father and older brother working the farm, her mother’s motley collection of geese, chickens and pigs, and her younger brother working as a general dogsbody in the mill’s warehouse.

From the start Lacey is no ordinary character: prone to speaking her mind, a solid sense of what is right and fair, and the determination to see her ideas through, she’s not the usual sort of worker in the mill – she reads constantly, including the newspaper, she’s got dreams and the determination to make those dreams her reality. And, when the mill owner’s son expresses an interest in her, and they start walking out, everyone is certain that it’s simply a fling for Nathan and that Lacey will get hurt. At any rate – Lacey’s own strength and goodness, combined with her putting her foot down with Nathan and ignoring his mother’s slings and barbs – the two are soon in love, and on his first furlough before being sent to the front, they are married.

Cleverly combining the personal struggles of Lacey and her family and friends with the war, with the growth and solidity of her own goals and dreams, and her own love for Nathan allow her to become the focus and the highlight of this book. Possessing well-thought out arguments, a backbone of steel and plenty of forgiveness and dreams to carry everyone forward, she shows her own little family in Yorkshire just how important a woman with drive and determination is, while not forgetting those she grew up with, worked with or tried to help. There’s plenty of atmosphere in this little novel – from the inside of the looms shed to the moors, Lacey’s house with Nathan and her little shop, not to mention the often stark contrast in homes from her childhood farmhouse and the childhood grand home of her husband. Cleverly crossing the ‘class lines’ in a time when that was rare and usually doomed to failure, the story is hopeful, engaging and clever – particularly with Lacey’s ability to argue with a rock (not exactly – but damn close).

I received an eArc copy of the tiltle from the publisher via NetGaley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-af1 /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This is a rags to riches story with a lot of history running through the entire story along with a very nice romance.

Lacey is a diamond in the rough Yorkshire girl. Employed in a textile mill, Lacey realises that women are marginalized. They do not get a good deal in their homes, nor in their work place. They are the backbone of yorkshire's textile industry and they get paid substantially less than the men, under appalling work conditions. Lacey decides after a mill accident to organize the women in a collective group, a basic Union to ask for better working conditions and for better pay. At the same time an unlikely romance develops between the boss's son and Lacey. Not favored by anyone the relationship develops slowly, culminating in a joyous marriage but her very new husband enlists and leaves Lacey to face an uncertain, war torn future alone.

The details of Lacey's life including an ongoing battle with a woman who is mad with jealousy over Lacey's marriage, her budding entrepreneurship and facing a future with her baby son when her husband is declared MIA forms the story of a very unusual and courageous woman. The history and turbulent times faced by ordinary village folk are detailed very well.

The mill is a tough and often miserable place to work and Lacey is determined to push for change. A determined woman, she works not only for her colleagues but also for women's suffrage. Along the way, she also falls in love with Nathan, son of the mill owner. You can guess how that was received by his parents and others. WWI, however, changes many things but not Lacey. She's a terrific heroine. Thanks the Netgalley for the ARC. This is well written and highly readable historical fiction.

Excellent book! Loved the characters and it was a great storyline. I would highly recommend this book.

Lacey Barraclough performs backbreaking work as a weaver in a textile mill, all while fighting for improvements to the horrid working conditions. As she pushes for unionization among her fellow workers, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with her boss’s son, Nathan Brearley. However, as their love begins to take shape, they realize they will have to overcome the arbitrary status and class that separate them—at least, for their families’ sake. But with England on the doorstep of war, Nathan enlists, and Lacey must navigate a new and complicated world.

This book’s greatest strength is the heroine, Lacey Barraclough. She’s tough, whip smart, and socially conscious. Never in the action does she simply accept the injustices around her. Instead, her entire drive focuses on the betterment of society, particularly the working class. Whether she’s fighting for unionization or better latrines for her weaver colleagues, she bounds from scene to scene, a firecracker on a mission. And god help anyone standing in her way. No one can accuse her of being written as passive.

Of course, she can only be as good as the book written around her. Fortunately, author Chrissie Walsh has written a stunning debut. Part-romance, part-historical fiction, part-war novel, part-examination of social class—a lesser author might balk at combining so many elements. However, Walsh handles all of this head-on, weaving plots seamlessly, and the result is a book both inspiring and heartwarming. And she does it all with brief chapters and a quick pace, making this a tight, fast read.

Much of the success here can be attributed to her brilliant attention to character. She utilizes a rather large cast, mostly made up of members of Lacey and Nathan’s families, but Walsh gives each such distinct voices and styles that readers should never be confused about who is who. Nathan’s mother, Constance, initially appears so hardened and almost cruel in response to her son marrying a “commoner”, yet Walsh keeps her away from caricature. Similarly, for a long stretch, Nathan seems devoted and loving while courting Lacey without crossing into sappy territory. In these places, which could easily devolve into extremes, Walsh find believability.

This book also has a lot to say about workers’ rights and justice and this was a particularly interesting concept for a historical novel. While often these works shy away from obvious injustice, citing it as a product of the time, Lacey is downright revolutionary. Women’s suffrage? Equal pay for equal work? Workers’ compensation? It’s all considered with Lacey taking charge.

However, this isn’t to suggest there aren’t darker moments to consider. After all, there is a war going on for a large chunk of the novel and Walsh does examine some of the broader horrors. As well, working conditions being what they were, there are a couple of factory scenes that are rough. In a book with a heroine who often uses her pluck to get what she wants, these moments even more impactful. The execution is tasteful and thoughtful.

Chrissie Walsh has managed to craft a solid story with such intriguing characters. This is an outstanding debut.

Note: Review will be posted on my blog on 12/21/2019

Heart breaking story of life in the mills
A war will things ever be the same
Can highly recommend this book to family and friends

A heart warmimg tale which takes you back in time. A lovely story full of likeable characters that take hold of you and pull you into the story

What a fabulous book a great story and charactors that made this book so good to read.I will recommend this book to friends well done to the author.4*

what an amazing book. Loved it from beginning to end
I loved the authors style of writing and will be looking for other books by this author.
I would recommend this book to friends and family