Stories of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.

This month marks the 100th anniversary of the tragic fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, the worst workplace disaster in US history and an important event in the struggle for rights and safety in the workplace. A total of 146 people died in the fire, almost all of them young women, who were either trapped in the building or jumped to their deaths. This preventable tragedy brought desperately needed attention to the unsafe conditions in many factories at the time, and helped galvanize workers and activists to demand greater rights for workers. The three novels listed below bring this tragedy and it's great historical importance to life... check them out at the Urbana Free Library!

Threads and Flames by Esther Friesner focuses on 13 year old Raisa, a recent immigrant from Poland who finds herself alone in New York City after her sister disappears. She takes a job in the Triangle Factory and finds a community of other girls like herself, until the fire changes her life forever.

Uprising by Margaret Haddix is a fictional account in which a survivor of the fire relates her experiences to a daughter of one of the factory owners, whose negligence had been blamed for the fire.

Lost by Jacqueline Davies tells the story of sixteen-year-old Essie Rosenfeld who takes a job at the Triangle factory and befriends a mysterious girl who turns out to be an heiress in hiding.