Charlotte Miller has always scoffed at talk of a curse on her family’s woolen mill, which holds her beloved small town together. But after her father’s death, the bad luck piles up: departing workers, impossible debts, an overbearing uncle. Then a stranger named Jack Spinner offers a tempting proposition: He can turn straw into gold thread, for the small price of her mother’s ring. As Charlotte is drawn deeper into her bargains with Spinner-and a romance with the local banker-she must unravel the truth of the curse on the mill and save the community she’s always called home.
Strong-willed Annabelle Stirling is more than capable of running the family draper shop after the untimely death of her parents. Under her father’s tutelage, she became a talented cloth merchant, while her brother Wesley, the true heir, was busy philandering about Yorkshire. Knowing she must change with the times to survive, Belle installs new machinery that finishes twice the fabric in half the time it takes by hand. But not everyone is so enthusiastic.
Learn about the sweeping changes, benefits and social problems that accompanied the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. The changes included convenience, more consumer goods, and greater wealth, along with child labor, pollution, and poor living and working conditions for industrial workers.
The Hudson River has been a source of inspiration and a means of livelihood to all who have lived along its shores. It played a key role in the settling of the New World and the outcome of the Revolutionary War, and was the birthplace of the environmental movement. Now Hudson Talbott pays homage to the river that shares his name in a gorgeously illustrated, fascinating account of the river?s history. Each appealing spread sheds exciting light on the river?s strategic, economic and cultural signifi cance. Packed with facts, timelines and maps, this is a wonderful introduction to a wide range of topics including the Age of Exploration, the Erie Canal, the Industrial Age, American arts and literature and the environment. River of Dreams is truly a book with something for everyone.
Tells the story of how Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, and the effects it had on the Southern United States. Written in graphic-novel format.
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Newbery Award-winning author tells the story of the man whose inventive genius made cotton king in America and in the world. Eli Whitney transformed the textile industry with his invention of the cotton gin; and he revolutionized the manufacturing process around the world with his creation of standardized parts.
His inventions included the phonograph, light bulb, and movie camera.
The mills at Wicksbridge are imaginary, but their planning, construction, and operation are quite typical of mills developed in New England throughout the nineteenth century.
In Collier’s book on Industry, the tremendous economic boon to the U.S. is not trumpeted to the exclusion of the abuse of workers-including children-by early industry giants, and the deep philanthropy of some figures is explicitly tied to the wealth gained by owners at the expense of employees. By focusing on broad themes, the Colliers are able to show cause and effect over several decades and to make the sweep of time “bite-sized” and intelligible. The frequent full-color and black-and-white period photographs and engravings effectively supplement and enrich the texts.
The book also does a great job of explaining the history of the steam engine, from its first creation to its replacement by other engine types, as well as giving a basic summary of how steam engines work.Half the book is rather beautiful pictures that show significant engines, trains, ships, and people in the story, so the book is only about 45 pages of actual text.
