Excerpt from Joshua Reynolds’s Detailed Storyline for his next upcoming book:
The year is 1835 in Leeds, England, two years after the Factory Act. In 1833, the Factory Act set the minimum age of child labor to nine years old and the maximum working hours to 48 per week. In 1834, the first railway line opened up in Leeds. It had a Terminus at Marsh Lane.
Chester and Jemima Starling work at Armley Mills, owned by Benjamin Gott (the owner is a real historical figure). Chester is 13 years old and Jemima is 11. They’ve worked at Armley Mills (a wool factory) for several years. Jemima was the minimum age (9) when the Factory Act passed, and so she continued to work in the factory. The Starling siblings are the narrators of the story as the story is written in first person. Jemima writes the first chapter, Chester the second, and alternating so forth. Jemima explains this at the beginning of the story, saying that they flipped a coin at who would have first dibs to write, and she won the toss. She also explains to the reader that if they looked in their history books, they could learn more about Benjamin Gott. The only reason why they themselves aren’t found in the history books is because they were not famous enough (says Jemima). . . . .