Fact'ry 'Ands by Edward Dyson (1916)

Name: Fact'ry 'Ands
Author: Edward Dyson

Factory Hands is a novel by Edward Dyson, first published in 1910. It tells the story of a group of factory workers in a small English town, and their struggles to make ends meet in the face of poverty and exploitation. The novel follows the lives of the workers, from their daily struggles to their attempts to unionize and fight for better working conditions. It also examines the relationships between the workers and their employers, and the power dynamics between them. The novel is set in the early 20th century, and is a vivid portrait of the harsh realities of life for the working class in England at the time. It is a powerful and moving story of courage and resilience in the face of adversity.

By Edward Dyson · First published 1916 · Genre: Historical Fiction, Social Realism, Drama · 13 chapters · 31,935 words

First lines

WHAT may be called the machinery of this book is the outcome of experience in one establishment; the characters and the incidents are gathered from a wide field. Workers in the busy top flat I have described, who may perhaps recognise scenes, situations, and materials, will search in vain for familiar lineaments in these pages. From the smallest prim office boy in the stationery warehouse below to the most frivolous "donah" deftly manufacturing fruit bags in the higher flights, master and man, all were too decorous for my needs. The people here presented are a choice selection from a large circle of acquaintances earning honourable if humble subsistence in jam, pickle, lollie, and biscuit factories, in tobacco factories, box factories, shirt factories, rope works, and paper mills, and I claim for them at least that they are true types of a pronounced Australian class not previously exploited for the purposes of the maker of popular fiction. Feathers, Benno, Goudy, Odgson, Fuzzy Ellis, Billy the Boy, and many others capering through my book spring from germs of reality, but I have used my originals as plastic raw material, remoulding them at my own sweet will, robbing them of semblance, but never quite squeezing vitality out of them in the process, I hope.

What this Textopian page supports

Fact'ry 'Ands is listed on Textopian as a novel by Edward Dyson, dated 1916 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Novel
Author: Edward Dyson
Date: 1916 CE
Language: English
Genres: Historical Fiction, Social Realism, Drama, Romance
Length: 31,935 words
Structure: 13 chapters, 1,119 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Discussion starters

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Similar titles

Genres

Historical Fiction — Edward Dyson's 'Fact'ry 'Ands' is set in the early 20th century and follows the lives of factory workers in Australia, making it a historical fiction novel.
Social Realism — The novel focuses on the struggles of the working class and the harsh realities of life in a factory, making it a social realism novel.
Drama — The novel follows the lives of the factory workers and their struggles, making it a dramatic novel.
Romance — The novel follows the romantic relationships of the factory workers, making it a romance novel.