The Mill

A dramatic narrative dedicated to the harsh, joyless lives of young girls working at the Quarry Bank Mill textile factory in Cheshire, in northwest England, from 1833 to 1836. Formally, they are underage apprentices under the care and full provision of the factory owners, the wealthy Greg family. In reality, they are miserable prisoners, crushed by either overt or institutionalized tyranny. For various reasons and in different situations, one by one, they begin to fight for their human dignity. The idea of a trade union becomes the natural outcome of this struggle.