Set in southern Wales in 1866, The Pit Girl made me think of Catherine Cookson’s similar stories from the north of England. This story is beautifully crafted and immersive. I loved 13 year-old Mari Evans, who stepped up to support her mother and siblings after her father abandoned them. Their lives were believably hard and yet I was amazed by Mari’s resourcefulness and her determination in the face of one challenge after another. This story is beautifully written and the characters seemed very real to me. The prejudices of the times in which it is set, the pride of people with virtually nothing and the way their lives and work are depicted are superbly depicted. This book is both well researched and a compelling read and I coudn’t put it down.

The Pit Girl was another wonderful read by one of my favourite saga authors Lynette Rees. It didn’t take me long to get immersed in this story about Mari Evans and the hard life she and her family led. Of course life was hard for many people in the late 1800’a and children as young as ten were sent to work down the mines. I found Mari to be a strong and determined character and wanted to help her family in whatever way she could . The author has described so well how life was in those days for the mining families and the details of working down the mines was fascinating to read . A sad and emotional read at times but also one that showed bravery and courage in difficult times .

Mari lived with her parents and siblings in a town in Wales. Her father and brother worked in the coal mines. It was a dirty and difficult job. A dangerous job. Many were injured and even killed there.

Life went on. Day by day, the family doing their very best to make ends meet. Then one day the unthinkable happened. Their whole life was turned upside down. Drastic measures were needed. Mari cut her hair and became a pit girl. Well, really a pit boy. A young girl doing a man's job. A secret that must be kept.

This was a page turner. I finished it faster than I wanted to. I loved so many of the characters. Big Al, looks tough, but was a wonderful, caring man. Mari's Mom who has a Christian heart. Mrs. Jones who gives Mari a place to find some comfort and a cup of tea.

I highly recommend.

Lynette Rees's The Pit Girl is an evocative and powerful historical epic of survival, sacrifice, and the gritty strength of family bonds. Against the dramatic scenery of a Welsh mining town, the novel tracks Mari Evans, a young woman whose life is disrupted by treachery and disaster. First, she discovers her father has left them for a rival family; then, one day in the pit, she finds her brother incapacitated by an accident. Hunger closing in and disease ravaging the village, Mari makes a reckless, desperate decision: to disguise herself as a boy and replace her brother below ground.

The writer's vivid, gritty description of the claustrophobia and dangers of pit work brings to life the physical toll and the omnipresent threat of detection. Mari is a heroine whom readers will root for uncompromising, selfless, and unfaltering in the face of insurmountable odds. But the book also delves into the danger she's taking: the whispers, the threats that lurk, and the very real risk that her secret may cost her everything.

Tragic and uplifting in equal proportions, The Pit Girl is ideal reading for Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin fans. It's a tale of love, loyalty, and one young woman's tenacious struggle to defend her family no matter what.

I do enjoy a good historical saga set in Britain, but this one is the first I’ve read set in this place and this era. The Pit Girl by Lynette Rees is set in Abercanaid, in Merthyr Tydfil in 1866.
Mari Evans is thirteen years old and lives with her coal miner father Gwynfor (who drinks a lot), her mother Mavis, her brothers Tommy (10) and Bryn (16, a collier at the coal pit since he was 12) and her younger sister Nerys.
It’s a difficult time for everyone there. Cholera has hit the town, so the doctor warns them to wash their hands more and only drink cooled boiled water. The mines are the main place to work in the area, but it’s a dangerous job and there are many hazards. I don’t want to spoil anything for those reading it, but the book title already gives you an idea that events happen which mean little Mari decides to work down the pit herself.
Mari is an amazing young girl – strong, brave and determined to help her family survive by earning money, even though girls are not legally allowed to work down the mine anymore. The family go through so much, but Mari stays positive and practical.
There are many other good characters including Big Al at the pit, Mari’s friend Bobby and the shop owner Mrs Jones who she helps out. But there are nasty characters too, including Dan Sharpe and the men at the pit who don’t like the youngsters working there and the snobby Margaret ‘Marguerite’ Thomas.
The story is full of ups and downs, plenty of things happening to hold the interest of the reader. It feels very authentic and well-researched and I could really picture the scenes in the mines. The pit ponies reminded me of the film Escape from the Dark, which I saw at the cinema when I was a child. It’s very evocative, emotional and draws you in from the first chapter.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed reading this bittersweet story.

Mari, is the only one in her family trying to keep it together.
She learns that her dad has another family and leaves her and her brother to live with them. Then her brother has an accident at work, making it hard to survive.

Mari makes a decision to cut her hair and go to work at the pit as a boy. But, will she succeed, and for how long?

We read of what life was like for those that worked in coal mines and their families. The daily feeling of something happening and having to follow set rules.

The story had me turning the pages, reading all the good and bad bits that happened to Mari and the people in her community.

I recommend this book.

My thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance reader’s copy of this novel.

Setting this story of the Evans family in the coal mining village of Abercannaid in the former farm borough of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, the author shows how the town’s quick industrialization by the mid 19th century affected its population. If work in the collieries and iron factories promised more steady wages than subsistence farming, it also exposed families to what were previously urban problems—cholera epidemics, mining accidents, diseases brought on by unprotected mine labour, 12 hour days worked by hungry ten year old boys.

As the story opens, Mari Evans, barely 12 years old, is desperately trying to help her mother nurse her youngest brother through what might be the deadly cholera that has been making the rounds. She has to run miles to fetch the only doctor; her sister is too young, and older brother Bryn is working the night shift down the mine. Their father, Gwynfor, is at the pub, where he has taken to staying later and even staying away. Although Mabel Evans had her suspicions, she had not dared confront him, for fear that he would leave the family. They were already stretched. Even Bryn’s wages, without their father’s breadwinner packet, could not carry them. It is understandable why many wives simply looked the other way, as long as the wandering husband continued to provide.

Although Gwynfor Evans was respected for his collier’s skills, he was a moral coward. His mistress was a local young woman barely older than Bryn. They flee to ‘start fresh’ elsewhere, possibly London, leaving a sorrowing and anxious family to fend for themselves, if they can. Just to make things worse, a mine collapse leaves Bryn, now their sole support, with fractured ribs and a crushed foot and no more than ‘a nip of brandy’ to get him through months of recovery.

While Mabel takes in laundry, and Mari works occasional hours at Mrs. Jones’ food store, paid for in provisions, she quickly decides to take radical measures. Cutting off her hair and borrowing work clothes from her school friend Bobby, she is hired on for a 3 day stint of 12 hour days, acting as a collier’s helper. New protective labour laws had prohibited girls from working underground. They could do above ground work, also heavy and dirty, but less dangerous. And also for much less pay. Mari rails against the injustice, but has little choice. And so she goes underground, where her first job is to assist Big Al Probert to take coal out of the narrow, low, and claustrophobic tunnels.

On top of all this, she keeps her job at the shop, and turns to the childless, widowed Mrs. Jones for comfort when bullies who resent the boys taking wages from them make her—newly named Lewis Lloyd—a target.

There is a lot of emotional as well as material anxiety in Mari’s story, and the author is very good at showing the hardships of daily life for all generations in coal towns like Abercannaid. The town and its mines are real, and there were several collapses in Mari’s time. It’s a very sad story, but one that focuses on the bravery and family loyalty of those like Mari who held on and gave everything they had to do so.

A very well written book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The characters were all interesting and the stories all linked together through the trials of life that the Evans family had to endure. The details about life underground in the pits were a particular favourite of mine.

I did enjoy this book but the blurb gave it all away so there wasn’t much to expect in the book.

We met Mari and her family, her feckless father who went off with another woman and left her pregnant after his plans went awry. In the worst way possible in the end.

Mari’s eldest brother Bryn was left to hold the family together - then a pit accident he had crushed his foot and the family had even less to live on. A throw away comment meant that Mari went down the pit to help bring in much needed cash. As a female this practice had been outlawed.
Mari also helped in a local shop - not for money - but for provisions.
She was subjected to ridicule by those who considered themselves her betters - but she managed to show the worst lady up in the end.

The book was well written and I was intrigued by the detail into the workings of the mine -hard arduous work for everyone including the pit ponies.

There were a lot of characters to get used to - and the descriptions of the poverty and deprivation were heartbreaking- as was the fact cholera was rife.

Although it was slow in places - it was Lynette Rees producing as brilliant book as always

Mari Evan’s gets a shock when she finds her father has a lady friend who he leaves his family to live with .Then her brother Bryn is involved in an bad accident at the coal pit and is not able to work so Mari has to find away to make money to keep her family in food and pay rent.Mari decides to dress up and act like a boy to get work at the pit till her brother is able to go back to work but will it work.This was a great read.Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books.

what would we all do to save our family? anything? even changing who you are in order to be what the world needs you to be in order to work?
well this is just what Mari aims and must force herself to be brave enough for when her life seems to fall apart around her. young Mari has a shock when her own father leaves them for another woman and family. then add to this her brother is hurt badly on his job down the pits. so Mari decides the only way forward is with her taken up the bat for bringing in the income. and she does this via becoming a boy, her brother, and heading down to the mines herself.
this is such a heart felt and emotional sage type of book. its such a thought provoking one too. how this young girl had to act just to be accepted in the work place and also the huge risks to her family in strife and if she was found out. all she wants to do is support her family and goes to any length to do so.
you get to see the fears and real snippet into the life of miners. it must have been horrible for those going down but also for the families too. how would you feel every day seeing your loved one go there, knowing the risks. the very real and dangerous risks.
i love how strong Mari was trying to be. she was facing heartbreak with her father, her injured brother, but through it all she simply strives forward desperate to keep her family together and safe.
this story kept me gripped from start to finish. and by the end i was desperate to see and know if Mari got some ease to her plights or at least was safe.
there is a good cast of characters in this book. i loved getting to know them all and some truly stuck in my heart. Mari was such a wonderful young woman and i doubt she was the first or the last who actually had to do something like this to keep families safe.

Mari Evans has always known life would be hard, but nothing could have prepared her for how quickly things would fall apart. First, the devastating news that her father has a second family - and chose them over her. Then the tragic accident in the pit leaves her eldest brother unable to work. It started as an off-hand joke, a comment by her brother. "Cut your hair, Mari. You could pass for a lad and work the pit in my place." But with cholera sweeping the village and hunger gnawing at their stomachs, it's Mari's only option. Disguised as a boy, she takes her brother's place underground, risking everything to keep her family from ruin.

We get a glimpse of what working as a coal miner involves. This is a bittersweet read of mining life and the hardships they encountered. I liked Mari, she was willing to step into her brother's shoes and work the pit to bring home his wages. This emotional read held my attention throughout.

Published 10th September 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #LynetteRees for my ARC of #ThePitGirl in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. A gutsy heroine, a believable storyline and a traditional setting. Highly recommend!

As the granddaughter of a pit deputy, it was interesting to read about the lives of mining families in this era, with poor health and safety, the workhouse, etc.
An interesting story about one family and their local community. I look forward to reading more by Lynette in the future.

A bittersweet story unfolds in The Pit Girl. A reader will see Mari, the central character, help hold her family together all the while it is devastatingly being wrenched apart by her dad's behavior and her older brother Bryn's mishap. There is a great glimpse of what the life of a coal miner is like: the work and the feeling of working underground, the seriousness of adhering to protocols, ever aware of the dangers and hazards as mostly seen through Mari's eyes.

I found the story to be engaging despite the sadnesses, the ups and downs, of a day in the life of a miner and mining community. I was able to read through quickly and with interest. I appreciated the faith-based input as well.

I believe there is genuine appeal for any reader but in my opinion, miner families will be able to relate the best as the fears and tensions they live with, or have lived with on a daily basis, are felt.

~ Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger ~

August 2025

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the complimentary reveiw copy sent by NetGalley and the publisher.

“The Pit Girl” is a historical fiction book by Lynette Rees. This book follows Mari Evans, whose father leaves the family and eldest brother is hurt in a mining accident. Mari dresses up as a boy to work in the coal mines to support the family. This wasn’t a bad book, but I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The writing is a bit simplistic. If you enjoy historical fiction and/or want to learn more about mining towns, this might be a book to pick up. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood books for the chance to read this book. I enjoyed it, in it we meet Mari from a Welsh mining town and her family . When her father leaves the family and her brother is hurt in an accident Mari has to pretend to be a boy and go down the pit .
I hope there is a follow on to this book so that I can het more from the characters.

Mari is an incredible character with a tenacious personality that helps her family. She makes decisions that no one else would make and makes us wonder if we would do the same.

What a heartbreaking story. I really felt for the family especially the little girl trying so hard to help her family after her father upped and left them. Hard times in those days, living hand to mouth, struggling everyday to make ends meet. A wonderful story. My thanks to netgalley and the publisher's for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Abercaniad Merthyr Tydfil.
A family in ruin
An unthinkable choice.
Mari Evans and her family,
With gossip spreading about her ale drinking father, a right dilemma for her mam Mavis.
Her brother Bryn the only one bringing in a wage from the pit, they just about managing and keeping her youngest Tommy and Nerys all fed it's a even harder struggle after Bryn accident forcing Mari to look for work.
This character a strong willed one provides for her family all that she can.
I totally was engrossed, it such a lovely beautiful story.
A family bond that won't ever be broken.
Loved it all