‘That morning I dragged my heels all the way to the mill. “I can’t do it,” I sulked. Mother sighed and shook her head. My heart sank. I’d seen it hundreds of times, but now it was different – now, I was going in. I’d never seen a place so depressing. I wanted to cry.’ With tales from hard working Audrey and mischievous Maureen to high-spirited Doris and dedicated Marjorie, The Mill Girls is an evocative story of hardship and friendship when cotton was still king. Through the eyes of four northern mill girls, we are offered a fascinating glimpse into the lives of ordinary women who rallied together, nattered over the beamers and, despite the hard working conditions, weaved, packed and laughed to keep the cotton mills spinning.