The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women

• Genre: Nonfiction; history; science
• Originally Published: 2017
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 980L; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 56 chapters; prologue, epilogue, and postscript; approximately 496 pages; approximately 15 hours, 52 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: The Radium Girls tells the harrowing story of young women who were employed as dial painters in the early 20th century and used radium-based paint to make watch dials glow in the dark. Initially considered a desirable job, the work soon led to devastating health issues due to radium exposure. Kate Moore chronicles the personal stories of these women, their suffering from radium poisoning, and their fight for justice. The book highlights the impact of their battle on workplace safety and occupational health laws in the United States.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Detailed descriptions of the suffering caused by radium poisoning; corporate negligence

Kate Moore, Author

• Bio: Born in Northampton, England; British author and editor known for her detailed historical narratives and engaging writing style; writes in several genres
• Other Works: Felix the Railway Cat (2017); The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear (2021)
• Awards: Great Lakes, Great Reads Award (2017); Goodreads Choice Award for Best History (2017); Lincoln Award (nominee, 2019); Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (nominee, 2018/19)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• The Perceived Objectivity of Medical and Scientific Testing
• The Media’s Role in Shaping Public Opinion and in Politics
• The Failure of the System To Protect Workers From Corporations
• Technological Optimism and the Changing Perception of Radium

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will:

• Explore background information on early 20th-century working conditions and technological optimism to increase their engagement with The Radium Girls.
• Read/study paired texts and other brief resources to deepen their understanding of themes related to The Perceived Objectivity of Medical and Scientific Testing, The Media’s Role in Shaping Public Opinion and in Politics, The Failure of the System To Protect Workers From Corporations, and Technological Optimism and the Changing Perception of Radium.
• Demonstrate their understanding of themes related to The Media’s Role in Shaping Public Opinion and in Politics and Technological Optimism and the Changing Perception of Radium by creating news articles representing the way media of the time responded to the dial painters’ claims.
• Analyze the significance of various elements of the text, such as historical context, structure, argumentation, and characterization; construct essay responses about the text’s subtitles, early 20th-century science fiction, and other topics.