The Sun Inside the Storm

Siobhan Costello - Author of The Sun Inside the Storm gives a talk at The Printworks on the 8th September 2026

Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Courage

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along to The Printworks on 8th September to hear my talk, Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Courage.

Around 45 turned up for the event. I was nervous beforehand. Seeing a room full of people was a bit nerve-wracking but once I started, my nerves soon settled, and it turned into such a lovely evening.

I'd also like to thank everyone at The Printworks for giving me the opportunity to talk about a story that has become very close to my heart.

The evening focused on the women chainmakers of Cradley Heath and the remarkable strike they participated in during 1910. These were ordinary working-class women who spent long hours making chain by hand, often in tiny forges attached to their homes and for desperately low wages.

Mary Macarthur, a trade union organiser who devoted her life to improving conditions for some of England’s poorest working women, led their fight for better pay.

I found the story by accident while watching an episode of Bargain Hunt. A short section about the women chainmakers caught my attention and sent me off to find out more. The more I found out, the more shocked I became that I'd never heard their story before.

Eventually, that research became the inspiration for my novel, The Sun Inside The Storm.

The novel follows Becky Jeffries, a fictional young working-class woman who dreams of becoming a newspaper reporter. Through Becky, I was able to bring together a fictional story with the real events surrounding Mary Macarthur and the women chainmakers.

During the talk, I shared some photographs and stories I discovered while researching the book and talked about how they influenced my novel.

These showed what the women did, the conditions they worked in, and what happened when they finally stood together to demand a better wage.

What struck me most when I was researching them was their courage. They had very little. Going on strike meant risking the small amount of money they had, but they did it anyway.

That's why I called the talk Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Courage.

I finished the evening by reading an extract from the novel. Afterwards, there was a real buzz around The Printworks. People stayed to chat about the history and the book, and I was kept busy signing copies of The Sun Inside The Storm.

Thank you again to everyone who attended, asked questions, bought a book, or stopped to chat afterwards. And a special thank you to The Printworks for hosting the evening and making me feel so welcome.