This was a surprise fly short novel. Novella? About a group of factory workers who use magic to help the unionize for better wages and better working conditions. This was a fun historical fantasy novel, casting light on what it might have been like to be a factory girl working in Lowell not so long ago.

This is a fun concept that I was predisposed to enjoy, because it involves the city where some of my family is from and still lives. I enjoyed reading it, and it's cute enough, but it feels like it's way too short for what it's trying to do. It doesn't have the room to breathe that it needs to make questions of "who's going to betray who" and "what can the magic do and what can't it" actually work. There's the meat of a good story here, and I don't regret reading it, but it feels unfinished.

It definitely suffers for being a novella. It could have been a great fleshed out novel, but there's not enough space for the relationship to grow or for the strike to really happen. I mean, it does happen, but by and large there's little tension or and it all sorta seems inevitable. With so few pages, I think you have to either focus in on the happenings or the relationship, the other takes back seat. Neither winds up being the focus here and both wind up taking the back seat.

The mill girls of Lowell have had enough. Terrible working conditions and no autonomy over their jobs or their lives has led them to incite a strike. They have the fight in them to manifest change, and a little magic won’t hurt their cause, either. The want freedom, better working conditions, and better pay for hard work, and banding together to make this happen will strengthen their sisterhood and bring about real change for women everywhere.

I loved this book. I don’t know why I thought it was super long. It wasn’t. I finished it in an afternoon, and thoroughly enjoyed it. In case you haven’t been keeping up with my reviews, all you have to do to get me to read a book is tell me there are witches, and if you throw the word queer in there, odds are I will love the book. What can I say? I’m a simple gal with simple interests, haha!

This story moves quickly. I love historical fiction stories about women, especially when they aren’t just window dressing on the stories of men. These ladies risk everything in hopes of a better future not only for themselves, but for factory girls everywhere. Men hold all the power, and they need reminding that the only reason they have the power is because they are backed by the work, skills, and knowledge of the women “below” them.

If you’re looking for a quick read that inspires you and instills the feeling of sisterhood, definitely check this one out. It’s available wherever you get books or audiobooks now.

Tell me there’s a book out there that offers a fictionalized account of early unions, fighting to gain new rights that will allow their members to live happier healthier lives. Tell me there’s a book that heavily involves the history of the textile industry. Tell me there’s a book out there where people can solve their problems by use of practical believable magic. Now tell me there’s something that combines all three of those things, and why yes, I do want to read that!

Enter The Factory Witches of Lowell.

The women and girls working at a textile mill in Lowell decide, not unreasonably, that they deserve more than what the company is willing to give them. Better pay, greater workplace safety, the usual things people have to fight for under a system that declares that “the winner” is whoever can give the least while getting the most. But the ensure solidarity, to ensure that all of them are together in the fight, they turn to witchcraft to bind themselves to the goal. It’s a rough trade, given that many of them work to earn money to send back to their families, and striking means no money. But a price must be paid for change, and the women know their value to the company, and compromises must be made to ensure that everybody can move forward again.

This novella could have been 100% real, a true account of a strike at a textile mill in a factory town, were it not for the magic element. I think that’s what makes it so compelling. I love historical fantasy and magical realism, things that are so grounded in the mundane that it makes the extraordinary that much more believable. Malerich did a really job job blending the mundane and the fantastical here; credit where credit is due, that’s a hard balance to strike.

We often take textiles for granted these days, what with new clothes being easy to come by and even easier to throw out most of the time. But Malerich shines a light on the dangers of the early mass production in the textile industry in The Factory Witches of Lowell. Low pay and long hours are obvious problems, and that was (and still is) common in a lot of work. But then there’s the young age of some employees, the danger of losing body parts if one isn’t quick enough with the large mechanical looms, the constant inhalation of tiny fibres that eventually destroy the lungs. It’s that inhalation that partly allows for the clever piece of sympathetic magic to work in the story. Cotton is in all of the employees, literally breathed in every day they work there, and that connection gave them a degree of power over each other and over the work itself. Between that and weaving parts of themselves into a piece of cloth, it made for a powerful binding, and I loved seeing such subtle magic work in tangible and believable ways.

The Factory Witches of Lowell isn’t a long read; I finished reading it in and afternoon, and I enjoyed every moment I spent with it. Malerich’s writing is clear and approachable, the story was interesting and contained aspects that are still relevant today despite the historic setting, and yes, being a geek for textiles made this novella that much better for me. If you’re a fan of historical fantasy and magical realism, then this is one book to look into sooner rather than later.

This book is an interesting and unique premise, however I had real difficulties with the framing and some of the views uncritically presented. All the best to the author, thank you for the earc

The Factory Witches of Lowell by C. S. Malerich
Available Now

What happens when you combine corporate greed, misogyny, and young women who have had enough? You get a magical tale of friendship, love, and women embracing their power.  
This historical novella takes us to the factories of Lowell, Massachusetts and the harsh working conditions found within. When the factory workers, nearly all young women, discover their pay is going to be cut again, they decide they have only one choice: they must strike. What the factory owners don’t take seriously is the young women have witchcraft on their side and they aren’t afraid to use it. 
This story takes off running and never slows down. We are shown the harsh working conditions of the young women and the health complications they all know they will face. Danger from unsafe machinery, lack of ventilation, and lungs filled with fibers are all risks they have to endure in order to earn a living. But for every horror we are shown, we also see all the ways that the women band together to look out for one another. Many of the girls suffer from coughing fits caused by the small bits of lint in their lungs from sucking threads through the shuttle. They are all aware that they will suffer the same fate if changes aren’t made and the deteriorating health of several girls reinforces their need for immediate change. Malerich has created an interesting magic system that the girls use to fight against the oppression of the factory owners and create a stronger bond between the workers. Woven throughout the story is the budding romance between two of the young women and it is really sweet. 
The Factory Witches of Lowell explores the horrors of exploitation, the bonds of friendship, and the lengths we will go to for the ones we love.   

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title.  All opinions and mistakes are my own.

This is a story about a group of women who grab their own agency, take back their own power and harness their own magic.

And it’s definitely magical.

The “mill girls” of Lowell, their lives and working conditions, make an interesting story to begin with, even before adding in witchcraft.

Not that the real women who worked in the mills weren’t called unnatural, as well as witches and bitches every single time they went on strike, or as it was called then, a “turn out”. Because these women, mostly young, were able to live away from their families, earn their own wages and save their own money by working in the mills.

It was revolutionary.

At the same time, as is detailed in this story, the conditions really were brutal. The work days started early, ended late, the windows were closed winter and summer, the noise was “infernal” and their leisure time was both limited in duration and ringed round with conditions about where they could go, what they could do, how long they could be away.

It was still freedom – of a sort. More freedom than they would have in the homes they came from for many of them.

It was also, as the residents of many a “company town” discovered, a chain that was difficult to break, as the company they worked for controlled the wages they were paid AND the cost of their food and lodging. As this story begins, and as occurred in real history in 1836, the company could squeeze its workers between the rock of their wages and the hard place of their living expenses at any time and seemingly without recourse.

The recourse that the female mill workers in the story take is the same one that the real mill workers took in the fall of 1836. They went on strike.

The striking workers in this story had a weapon that their real-life historical sisters did not. They had witchcraft. They had the power to make their strike into a magically binding pact. And they had the leadership to make that binding so strong that even the mills bent to their will.

Not just figuratively by giving in, but literally. By magic. And by the power of love.

Escape Rating A-:This was lovely and surprisingly charming, even though the conditions under which the “mill girls” worked were anything but.

What made this story “sing” was the way that the magic of witchcraft, which is always considered to be “women’s magic” and therefore “less than”, wraps itself around the bones of the history like the weft of the women’s work wrapped around the warp of the looms.

And then there’s the character of Judith, and her love for Hannah. In a way, everything Judith does is about her love for Hannah. And they weave together as well. Because Judith is the leader and the organizer. She is the driving force behind the strike and the union and the witchcraft. And yet, it’s not her power. Judith has no “craft” of her own. The craft is Hannah’s. It’s only together that they can achieve the impossible, holding the strike – and saving Hannah’s life.

Their love, and their desire to save each other is the grace note that makes this story just rise.

One of the marvelous things about this story is that it is complete in and of itself, in spite of its relatively short length. Not that I wouldn’t love to know about what happened to all of them, particularly Judith and Hannah. But I don’t have to know to feel satisfied. They lived, they loved, and even if they spent the rest of their lives together fighting the long defeat against the powerful mill owners, it’s clear from the end of the story that there will be plenty of joy for them in that fight.

This is a story that doesn’t have a happy ending. Rather, it ends in a kind of “happy for now”. The Factory Girls Union of Lowell really can’t win the long war against the rich and rapacious “gentlemen” who own the mills. But as the story ends, they have won a big victory, and are firmly resolved to continue the fight. As they did.

As unions continue to do to this day. Unfortunately without the witchcraft – as far as we know.

It’s really hard to avoid reading about the conditions that a lot of people are working under today. Before the pandemic it was already questionable, especially with the rise of the gig economy. But the pandemic, particularly in the United States, has brought a lot of those issues into sharp detail. So when I heard of a book about a group of women banding together to strike in the nineteenth century using magic, I was instantly sold. I know it’s not exactly a solution to our current predicaments (I wish it was), but because stories about solidarity are so rare, it’s important to read stories that focus on actually banding together. It’s a nice and (in my opinion) important break from the single good guy/girl protagonist who “wins” through sheer willpower. The Factory Witches of Lowell, by C.S. Malerich, is a book about such solidarity that scratches the surface of labor history in the Northeastern United States. It serves as an interesting exploration of these ideas but falls short in delivering a solid story.

Our story follows the exploits of women workers in the milltown of Lowell, Massachusetts, adding a fantastical flair to real life events of 1836. The two main characters are Judith, the ringleader of the strike, and Hannah, one who still practices the forgotten art of witchcraft. There is a budding romance between the two as they navigate the strike, facing opposition from management and helping to keep the other women involved. Magic isn’t a silver bullet in their schemes, so while Hannah practices, she still has to work to find the right spells to counteract the papercraft of capital. How can a young group of women succeed, when there have been several attempts before them? Will the magic be enough?

Promisingly, the book opens in media res, with the women performing magic during a strike planning session. There is a sense of wonder that fills the pages; the reader is introduced to the characters as they submit their hair to the collective spell. This spell would in essence form a magical bond of solidarity, preventing women from crossing the picket line at the promise of individual benefit from management. What I particularly enjoyed about the magic in Witches is how cleverly Malerich interweaved it into the class politics and machinations of capitalism. Setting Hannah up as someone who understood the basic tenets, but had to use her foundations to analyze and build new spells was really fun, and also fairly informative from a material analysis perspective (if you’re into that sort of thing).

Beyond the magic, however, I had a hard time connecting with the story, and I think that is mostly due to its length. Witches relies a lot on the historical aspect as a given, and people’s common understanding that working conditions in the nineteenth century were awful and extremely exploitative. There are tidbits here and there about the specifics of working conditions such as the kiss of death (in which women had to inhale the string through loops, thus inhaling the linens and dust, developing coughs), but I never got a general sense of their lives. While I understand that there probably was not much of a life outside of work in these conditions, I barely got a sense of who the women wanted to be outside work, or if they even saw the work as important. It was a fairly large cast of characters, centered around two particular women, but overall most of the characters barely had any defining traits even though they were often talked about in reverent and defining ways. I get that there is a very fine line to walk before you stray into anachronism, or modern progressive ideals showing up in historical fiction, but I had a hard time caring about the strike beyond my already pro-labor power tendencies. I’m not saying this had to be a “teachable moment” — it is fiction and deserves to be fun, I just mean that purely from a story standpoint I did not buy in. I think I expected historical fiction with a charming fantasy twist, but I just got the charming fantasy twist with historical labor trivia thrown in.

In the end it’s hard to say how much of this could be made more compelling with length, because I do think that’s my major complaint with the book. Witches is 120 pages, and so much is crammed into it. Everything moves so fast, there’s no time to appreciate the characters or their struggles. The texture of their lives feels missing, and while there are plenty of dissections of the book from a political perspective that are enlightening (if you are interested, I definitely recommend looking into them because there is a lot to learn about), I had trouble with it as a story. I wish it was a little less subtle, and had more “oomph” to the narrative. I still liked it and loved the way Malerich used magic in a grounded way to highlight how capitalism as a system functions. However, I wanted more from it, and maybe that’s a personal problem.

Rating: Factory Witches of Lowell – 6.0/10
-Alex

Historical fantasy set in Lowell, New England where the female mill workers band together to form a Union and demand improved conditions with pay.  However they set about their strike through the use of magic, with each woman surrendering hair to be woven to be used in the spell to set the success of their withdrawal of labour.
I enjoyed the premise and was swept along with the story, however the characters were painted with a very light touch so not always fully engaged with their struggle.
This book is worth reading and would look out for any further writing by this author.

The Factory Witches of Lowell is a fictional account of the beginning of the Lowell’s Mill strike, which was organized by the women working in the factories. At first, I was intrigued by the premise and enjoyed meeting the different characters. Hannah and Judith were interesting but I never really felt like I knew them (and even got them confused with other characters at times). Overall, there was very little character development in this story. The magic system wasn’t really that well-developed, it felt like it was just tossed in there to try to add something new to the story. Additionally, I felt incredibly unsatisfied when the story ended because it felt like so much of the story was missing. Overall, I’m not quite sure that I would recommend this one.

The Factory Witches of Lowell
Historical fantasy about industrial action in America

Content warning: slavery

I received a copy of this eBook courtesy of the publisher.


“The Factory Witches of Lowell” by C. S. Malerich is a historical fantasy novella set in Massachussets, USA in the 19th century and is a fictionalised account of the Lowell Mill Girls. When management increases the rent of the women who work in textile factories without increasing their wages, the women organise themselves and agree to go on strike. With the help of Mrs Hanson, who runs one of the boardinghouses, and the guidance of ailing Hannah Pickering who has a gift for seeing, the women cast a spell to ensure they all stick to the strike until their demands are met. However, when management counter their action, the women realise they are going to have to take more drastic measures.

This is a light-hearted story that transforms a historical event into a subtle fantasy novella just one step shy of magic realism. The magic is sparse yet effective. Although dealing with serious issues including women’s rights and workers’ rights, Malerich has a humorous and gentle style that makes this book very quick and readable. Judith Whittier is a strong character and a strong leader, and I really enjoyed the banter between her and Hannah. I thought the romance in this book was done well, and was a good counterbalance to the industrial action afoot in the town. There is a point in the book where Mrs Hanson’s loyalties come into question, and I had my heart in my mouth wondering what was going to happen next.

I think that the only issue I had was that this book does at times border on an irreverent tone. The reader is thrown headlong into a very limited point in time, and I felt that the terrible working conditions of the women were downplayed somewhat, and the resolution seemed too simple, given the historical context. Malerich, I think in an effort to acknowledge that slavery was still in place during this time, refers to Hannah’s ability to see a physical embodiment of being enslaved. This was handled in an unfortunately dehumanising way, and became more about furthering Hannah’s story rather than a comment on slavery itself.

A light, enjoyable read that perhaps occasionally made too light of some things.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. The Lowell mills are a marvel, producing loads and loads of bolts of woven cotton. Young women work long, long hours each day at the horrendously loud looms, fibres hanging in the air and making their way into the women’s lungs, sickening and killing them too soon. The conditions are a health and safety nightmare, but the Boston owners’ profits are paramount, and there’s always another new girl to replace a sick or dead one.
At the same time, working at the looms is attractive for the pay, and for the small financial independence it gives these young women.
The Boston bosses demand good and godly comportment from the girls, with their behaviour monitored by the matrons of the boarding houses they live in.
Then, the bosses demand greater output with higher boarding room fees, and barely a pay raise.
The women decide to rebel, forming a union, and refusing to work until they receive a pay raise.

C.S. Malerich’s characters are modelled on the 1830s young women who took the unprecedented, and to the mills’ owners, despicable step to band together for a pay increase. That these women did this when they were still considered property themselves in the eyes of the law, and could not vote, was pretty amazing.
The young women here are led by Judith and Hannah. Judith is the organizer, while Hannah’s a Seer, and together they craft the resistance.
This could just be a historical story, but Malerich adds a little witchery to the proceedings, with the girls weaving a spell to ensure they all stick to their plan.

This is a novella, so there’s not that much time to provide a lot of depth to the characters, but I actually found that the person who was most vivid and complete in my mind was Mrs. Hansen, the main characters’ boarding house matron. I had a harder time getting a feel for Judith and Hannah, while Mr. Boott was mostly just self-interested, and I questioned whether he would really have jumped to “witchcraft!” as what was holding the young women together.
So the characterization was a little lacking, but I still mostly liked this, and love that I felt compelled to learn a bit about the  real efforts of the Lowell women who organized the first union in the US.

The Factory Witches of Lowell is a short historical fantasy by C.S. Malerich. Released 10th Nov 2020 by Macmillan on their Tor/Forge imprint, it's 144 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

I really liked the premise of the book - fictionalized history with a magic twist. There's a f/f romance subplot, some young mill-worker witches striking for better working conditions, and a well written and engaging character driven narrative. The characterizations were well done and I found them both sympathetic and understandable. 

I'm not sure precisely whom this book's intended audience should be. It felt a lot to me like a young adult novella, but if so, there's a fair bit of graphic racism and sexism whose treatment I felt was problematic and, frankly, tone deaf. It wasn't so much the historical reality of the time (where there was obviously rampant sexism and racism), it was actually the author's treatment of the subjects and the actual objectification of people of color and women that I found fairly repugnant. I will say, however, that the author is a gifted wordsmith and the plotting and narrative arc and writing were exceptional - so I've no doubt whatsoever that the objectification and vile manner of equating beaten and enslaved humans to beasts was 100% intentional. I'm just not sure if that makes it better or worse. 

This is an interesting and engaging novella. I enjoyed it, and the romance subplot was gently and sweetly written. I found parts of it troubling and difficult to read. 

Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Factory Witches of Lowell by C.S. Malerich is a historical fantasy novel out on November 10th. It is a fictionalized account of the beginning of Lowell’s mill women’s union, following the events of a strike.

A delightful story about the power of taking control against those who subjugate. The setting is lush and thebackdrop of 19th century Lowell, Massachusetts plants the reader in a fantastic alternate history full of Unions, looms, and witches.

I enjoyed the story and found it interesting, but found myself wanting more. I think it could have made a more compelling novel if provided more background and character development. For a novella, it was good.

Being from Lowell, Massachusetts and having worked as a seasonal Park Ranger at the Lowell National Historical Park in college, I was dying to read this as soon as I saw the cover! Overall, it was an interesting story and I liked the ways witchcraft was used to bolster their strike and Union. This story takes place in the 19th century and incorporates accurate depictions of life as a Mill Girl, buildings/landmarks, and even some significant historical figures. The story mostly follows Mill Girls living in a boardinghouse, including: young, determined Judith who fights against poor working conditions; and Hannah, a Seer, who helps teach the girls spells. The writing style was a bit difficult to read as it seems like it could’ve been written in the period it depicted. For that reason, I felt a bit disconnected from the characters. I also wished this was a longer story, so it would be easier to get to know characters better. It’s clear Malerich has done a lot of research about Lowell and the life of a Mill Girl, which really made the burgeoning city come to life! Many of the textile mill buildings still exist in Lowell, so it was fun for me to picture what things were like in the 19th century.  

Thank you NetGalley and TorDotCom for providing this digital ARC.

Content warning: Workers' rights violations, terminal illness

In Lowell, Massachusetts, weavers are fed up with long hours, unfair and unequal wages, and terrible working conditions. Judith and Hannah, literal witches, band their boarders together with witch craft and hope, starting a union to fight back against their managers.

This novella is just fun. The witchcraft is very real and well-defined on the page. There is a delightful camaraderie between all the girls (and yes, there are girls who kiss in this book). What stood out to me the most about the magic was the fact that it was consent-based. You couldn't just cast a spell on an object if it wasn't yours, and you couldn't cast a spell on a person if they didn't want it. This type of system lent itself well to the unity experienced by the unionizing girls.

It really leans into its historical period by contextualizing the plight of the young factory workers while also anchoring the events in the context of how work is valued. The cultural and historical context is rich here, which makes it an engaging read from start to finish.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review
The Factory Witches of Lowell is a charming short novel about Lowell's mill girls using magic and friendship to improve their lives. As a New England native, this story caught my interest because it gives the mill girls a chance to prevail against the forces of capitalism that exploited them. Read it to put a smile on your face and hope in your heart. People who enjoy feminist lit with happy endings will especially love it.

This is such a creative idea with great scenes and fascinating characters. The choice of historical setting melding with fantasy elements is just wonderful. The difficulty is that the tale itself is sluggish and suffers from a writing style that is too fusty; the author chose to write in the style of the times she was describing, and it bogged down.  I would have loved a more energetic voice and fewer characters to keep track of, it would have felt more action-oriented.  I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

An interesting, brief tale of striking witches.
"The Factory Witches of Lowell" is an interesting twist on a number of classic stories - witchcraft, solidarity, women's historical and economic recognition, and more.

Well-written, engaging, and interesting.