The Boldness of Betty

The Boldness of Betty (Paperback) By Carey, Anna It's summer 1913 and Betty Rafferty is fed up. Forced to leave school aged 14, Betty is considered lucky when she gets a job in a sweet shop. After all, her da and her older brother Eddie are both working hard down on the docks in all weathers. But Betty is bored at the shop, and looks with envy at her customers who attend the posh girls school on nearby Eccles Street. But life in Dublin becomes anything but boring when industrial unrest brings the city to a halt. Betty is shocked when her brother Eddie is badly injured by a police charge. The city becomes increasingly violent - and hungry. Betty has never seen anything like the violence and is horrified when employers start locking out workers who refuse to abandon the trade union. At the start of September a terrible tragedy strikes the tenement houses in Church Street, and Betty's friend Rosie loses both her mother and her sweet little brother Francis. When Betty hears about a soup kitchen organised by the Irish Women Workers' Union at Liberty Hall, she's determined to help out. There, she meets other union activists, Countess Markievicz, and sympathetic suffragettes. As the Lockout continues into the bitter winter months, people are beginning to starve. Dora Montefiore sets up a Save the Kiddies scheme, and Betty's sister Lily looks to take baby Robbie to safety in England. But the Irish Church has other ideas ... Can Betty do her bit to help Lily make her escape? Can she really change their fortunes?

Short-listed for Children's Book of the Year (Senior) 2020 (Ireland) Short-listed for Children's Book of the Year 2021 (Ireland)

“Historical fiction written with a light touch, Carey knows how to make the past come alive for young readers”

highly recommended

Anna Carey, author of the Rebecca series and The Making of Mollie, explores through Betty’s story the multi-layered inequalities of Irish life that culminated in the 1913 Dublin Lockout and later the Easter Rising. The fictional Betty is able to lead the reader through the real events of this turbulent period of Irish history, rubbing shoulders with some of those whose leadership and bravery established the rights still enjoyed by many workers today… Realistic flavours of the time come from the crumpets and Mary cakes Betty serves to customers… Carey draws on her own family history to inform the setting, much of the book taking place on Strandville Avenue, where four generations of her family lived. Indeed she credits her ancestors’ work as dockers as part of the inspiration for the writing of what is her most substantial and historically enlightening novel yet for young readers

Carey’s lightness of touch means that descriptions of police brutality towards workers, or the hypocritical actions of Catholic pressure groups, are all the more shocking. ‘You can learn a lot from a story,’ Betty notes, talking to – rather than down to – the young/pre-teen audience for this compelling, satisfying book … endearing, Adrian Mole-esque      

I really loved this story reading about the adventures Betty had. It is a marvellous and thrilling story. I learned quite a lot about the 1913 Lockout … This is a brilliant book and I would rate it five out of five. It deserves 5 stars.’ By Aoife, 6th Class, SN Iorball Sionnaigh, Scotstown, Co Monaghan 

Told in Bettys’ own voice as she reaches towards her dream of being a writer, beginning with this memoir, a fascinating picture of life during the Dublin Lockout emerges with insight and feeling. While this is a work of fiction, it has a vision of historical accuracy woven through its’ strands. The portrayal of Betty and her family and friends rings true against this background with all its’ hardships, hopes and dreams and is highly relatable even today. All the confusion and determination of young adult life is relayed in genuine voice. The plot builds steadily with perfect flow, taking us from drama to crisis to resolution and back again. And it is an intriguing read; full of life, heart and reality. An absolutely marvelous book!

Dublin 1913 and Betty is writing her memoirs. She has just finished her last year in school (and is very upset about it) and has started working in a teashop. As the lockout and murmurs of workers’ rights abound in the background, Betty starts to question her own place in society as a young woman in the workforce. This is an inspiring book, reminding the reader that we all have a voice and that those voices matter. A charming, insightful read for historical fiction fans

Although the historical events around the Dublin Lockout play an important role in this book, it’s above all a funny and honest look at family and friendship

I have a LOVELY book for you! #TheBoldnessOfBetty by @urchinette is an engaging, inspiring YA novel set during The Dublin Lockout of 1913. Honestly, I find Anna Carey's novels give me courage and recalibrate my own political compass. Even though I'm not a YA, I LOVED this!

The Boldness of Betty by Anna Carey, sees 14 year old Betty and her best friend forced to leave school to work in 1913 Dublin. This book is a warm, cute story with a gritty and dark edge that covers police brutality, Catholic pressure groups, poverty, hunger, inhuman living conditions and with a light hand - making normal of darkness in a palatable yet powerful manner for children. A great class novel for fourth class upwards with a handy teaching resource packed with class activities available for free on the O'Brien website

Anna Carey has created another gutsy female heroine to give us a bird’s eye view of history, in this case of the 1913 Lockout. Fourteen-year-old Betty is an ordinary Dublin girl who rubs shoulders with the suffragettes as she tries to help the people in her city, and find a place for herself outside the narrow confines of social expectation. Clear, concise prose and characters help root this historical tale deep in the reader’s imagination

Lovely for children up and going with their own reading

Super stocking filler

historical fiction for teen readers, this story follows 14-year-old Betty during the 1913 Dublin Lockout. Forced to leave school and start work, the brave and determined girl joins the Irish Women Workers' Union on strike as industrial unrest grips the city

Packed with gentle humour and ideal for history-loving youngsters

Absolutely brilliant. It brings you right into the heart of that time … a wonderful warm story about friendship

Packed with gentle humour and ideal for history-loving youngsters

A lovely piece of historical fiction

ANNA CAREY is a journalist and author from Dublin who has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent and many other publications. Anna’s first book, The Real Rebecca, was published in 2011, and went on to win the Senior Children’s Book prize at the Irish Book Awards. Rebecca returned in the critically acclaimed Rebecca’s Rules, Rebecca Rocks and Rebecca is Always Right. The Making of Mollie (2016) was her first historical novel and was shortlisted for the Senior Children’s Book prize at the 2016 Irish Book Awards and was followed by the sequel, Mollie on the March, which received rave reviews. Anna’s most recent book The Boldness of Betty was also shortlisted for the Senior Children’s Book prize at the 2020 Irish Book Awards and features a cameo appearance from our favourite suffragette, Mollie.Lauren O’Neill is an illustrator and graphic designer. Originally from Wexford, she moved to Dublin to study in NCAD and stayed. Her work has appeared across a wide variety of areas from advertising campaigns to storybooks and gallery exhibitions. She has illustrated many books including Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, which won the Children’s Books Ireland Merit Award for Illustration, and Blazing a Trail which won the Children's Book of the Year (senior) Irish Book Award in 2018.

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