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The Cigar Factory: A Novel of Charleston
"The sun leaned for down bringing shade to the waterfront," begins Michele Moore's entrancing debut novel, harkening back to an era when the legendary fishermen of Charleston's Mosquito Fleet rowed miles offshore for their daily catch. With evocative dialect and remarkable prose, The Cigar Factory tells the story of two entwined families, both devout Catholics--the white McGonegals and the African American Ravenels--in the storied port city of Charleston, South Carolina, during the World Wars. Moore's novel follows the parallel lives of family matriarchs working on segregated floors of the massive Charleston cigar factory, where white and black workers remain divided and misinformed about the duties and treatment received by each other.
Cassie McGonegal and her niece Brigid work upstairs in the factory rolling cigars by hand. Meliah Amey Ravenel works in the basement, where she stems the tobacco. While both white and black workers suffer in the harsh working conditions of the factory and both endure the sexual harassment of the foremen, segregation keeps them from recognizing their common plight until the Tobacco Workers Strike of 1945. Through the experience of a brutal picket line, the two women come to realize how much they stand to gain by joining forces, creating a powerful moment in labor history that gives rise to the Civil Rights anthem, "We Shall Overcome."
Moore's extensive historical research included interviews with her own family members who worked at the cigar factory, adding a layer of nuance and authenticity to her empowering story of families and friendships forged through struggle, loss, and redemption. The Cigar Factory includes a foreword by New York Times best-selling author and Story River Books editor at large Pat Conroy.
Cassie McGonegal and her niece Brigid work upstairs in the factory rolling cigars by hand. Meliah Amey Ravenel works in the basement, where she stems the tobacco. While both white and black workers suffer in the harsh working conditions of the factory and both endure the sexual harassment of the foremen, segregation keeps them from recognizing their common plight until the Tobacco Workers Strike of 1945. Through the experience of a brutal picket line, the two women come to realize how much they stand to gain by joining forces, creating a powerful moment in labor history that gives rise to the Civil Rights anthem, "We Shall Overcome."
Moore's extensive historical research included interviews with her own family members who worked at the cigar factory, adding a layer of nuance and authenticity to her empowering story of families and friendships forged through struggle, loss, and redemption. The Cigar Factory includes a foreword by New York Times best-selling author and Story River Books editor at large Pat Conroy.
273 pages, Hardcover
First published February 9, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
June 30, 2016
This book would be worth reading for the history and the details of daily life in Charleston in the first half of the 20th century alone, but it goes a step further with a wonderful cast of characters and a memorable story, written so well it's hard to tell it's a first novel.
Two women, one white, one black, both poor, get a job at the Cigar Factory in Charleston, SC. Even though the jobs are coveted because of the steady paycheck and better pay than taking in washing and ironing, it's still a hellhole of a place to work. Backbreaking labor, freezing in winter, stifling in summer, foremen who demand "favors" from the women to keep their jobs, long hours six days a week; all this for their families to survive and the hope that their kids can get an education to better themselves. This novel takes us through 50 years of history, of civil rights and labor inequities, and shows us what people can do when they work together and help each other out, recognizing that, at the heart of it all, we're all the same, no matter what color or nationality.
Two women, one white, one black, both poor, get a job at the Cigar Factory in Charleston, SC. Even though the jobs are coveted because of the steady paycheck and better pay than taking in washing and ironing, it's still a hellhole of a place to work. Backbreaking labor, freezing in winter, stifling in summer, foremen who demand "favors" from the women to keep their jobs, long hours six days a week; all this for their families to survive and the hope that their kids can get an education to better themselves. This novel takes us through 50 years of history, of civil rights and labor inequities, and shows us what people can do when they work together and help each other out, recognizing that, at the heart of it all, we're all the same, no matter what color or nationality.
June 4, 2016
The Cigar Factory requires a bit of patience due to the Gullah/Geechee words scattered throughout the story. The unfamiliar language, however, is essential in depicting a certain class and time of Charleston, South Carolina, and although I had to use the glossary a few times for clarification, it was worth the effort. I even found phrases to love: "Trus-me-Gawd" (the handmade boats whose seaworthiness was doubtful), "the sun leaned down" (sunset) and "he'lenga" (the period just after dark; the lingering time), for example.
I knew nothing about the cigar factory in Charleston before I started reading this book, nothing about the custom of slave women wearing blue dresses, or the bell advising people to prepare for cold weather. I didn't even know that people once had to pay poll taxes and that unmarried women weren't entitled to a pension.
I appreciate having learned all of these things and more, and also for the introduction to the book's varied cast of characters, both black and white, and mostly poor. Although uneducated and sometimes misguided, Cassie, the loyal Irish-American who rises in the ranks of the factory due to her obedience, and Maliah, the African-American who is confined to the basement, are rendered with respect and tenderness.
This is a meticulously-researched, richly told story. Thanks to the late Pat Conroy, who contributed an introductory essay, for this discovery, and to Story River Books for publishing it.
I knew nothing about the cigar factory in Charleston before I started reading this book, nothing about the custom of slave women wearing blue dresses, or the bell advising people to prepare for cold weather. I didn't even know that people once had to pay poll taxes and that unmarried women weren't entitled to a pension.
I appreciate having learned all of these things and more, and also for the introduction to the book's varied cast of characters, both black and white, and mostly poor. Although uneducated and sometimes misguided, Cassie, the loyal Irish-American who rises in the ranks of the factory due to her obedience, and Maliah, the African-American who is confined to the basement, are rendered with respect and tenderness.
This is a meticulously-researched, richly told story. Thanks to the late Pat Conroy, who contributed an introductory essay, for this discovery, and to Story River Books for publishing it.
May 29, 2016
I enjoyed very much reading this book of life in Charleston from 1917-1946. This was a time of segregation, harsh working and living conditions, no unions, and life struggling to move forward when so many wanted to keep it the same.
The Cigar Factory illustrates the lives of two families, one working white and one working black. What the author shows is how similar their lives are; their struggles, beliefs, concerns and desires. But, of course, during this time, they live separate lives side by side and they don't interact with each other. They watch from the outside imagining that only they have it hard and only they suffer at the hands of those in charge.
In Charleston, we look at the beautiful, graceful mansions and the lovely gardens and ambling streets with beauty all around. But this life was/is only lived by a select few. This book reveals another side of the city. It was great to look through the eyes of characters brought to life so beautifully by Ms. Moore and to travel back in time to a Charleston I never knew, and now, appreciate even more.
The Cigar Factory illustrates the lives of two families, one working white and one working black. What the author shows is how similar their lives are; their struggles, beliefs, concerns and desires. But, of course, during this time, they live separate lives side by side and they don't interact with each other. They watch from the outside imagining that only they have it hard and only they suffer at the hands of those in charge.
In Charleston, we look at the beautiful, graceful mansions and the lovely gardens and ambling streets with beauty all around. But this life was/is only lived by a select few. This book reveals another side of the city. It was great to look through the eyes of characters brought to life so beautifully by Ms. Moore and to travel back in time to a Charleston I never knew, and now, appreciate even more.
November 4, 2017
This very enjoyable novel is set in Charleston, SC, from 1917 through 1946. It centers on two women who are employed at a cigar factory there. One is white and one is black, but both are working class. Included are many details related to the work environment that sound outrageous to us today, such as a required and invasive medical exam to ensure that one isn't pregnant before one starts working.
We also watch the evolution of the factory, as it goes from a building in which people roll cigars by hand to one that is highly mechanized. Wages go down as more machines are introduced, and management pits white and black workers against each other in order to keep wages down. They also work hard to keep the unions out, and even close the factory for a while when they can't figure out how to get around the federal laws that allow labor to organize. One union organizer sums up the situation:
Our two main characters work in the same factory for decades, yet don't cross paths until the very end. I wish that had happened sooner.
This novel includes a laudatory introduction by Pat Conroy that addresses Michele Moore's use if dialect in her book. It also includes a glossary of Gullah and Gullah-influenced Charleston English words that was very helpful to this reader!
We also watch the evolution of the factory, as it goes from a building in which people roll cigars by hand to one that is highly mechanized. Wages go down as more machines are introduced, and management pits white and black workers against each other in order to keep wages down. They also work hard to keep the unions out, and even close the factory for a while when they can't figure out how to get around the federal laws that allow labor to organize. One union organizer sums up the situation:
Slavery made the plantation owners wealthy in the past, and while the South may have lost the war, don't worry, most of the plantation owners still owned enough land to sell off chunks over the years in order to send their kids to good schools and to start buying stock in Northern factories that make millions off the South's resources. I am convinced that the Jim Crow is not really about a true belief in the inferiority of the Negro, but instead, it is entirely about maintaining an endless supply of cheap labor. (229)That's right.
Our two main characters work in the same factory for decades, yet don't cross paths until the very end. I wish that had happened sooner.
This novel includes a laudatory introduction by Pat Conroy that addresses Michele Moore's use if dialect in her book. It also includes a glossary of Gullah and Gullah-influenced Charleston English words that was very helpful to this reader!
June 18, 2017
Loved this book so much -- not only because of the subject matter but also because of the colorful dialect and the breadth of history covered. Got to meet in passing Langston Hughes and Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP! Lovely images include a haint blue sail, the establishment of sweetgrass basket stands in Mt. Pleasant to cut out the white middle-man in Charleston, the idea that July 4th was viewed as a blacks-only, yankee holiday celebrated with sailboat races and picnics on the Battery. Inventions such as the electric fan and the radio (which carried a baseball game won by Detroit Tigers over the Chicago Cubs) added realism. Then the story of the AFL CIO union organizers moving against the poll tax, teaching factory workers to read and write, and noting that the same workplace problems existed in Winston-Salem, Trenton and Philly in the cigarette factories. Ending with the sons of black and white workers serving in WWII(Guam and Saipan) and coming home. The Nicaragua Victory ship hitting and taking out a section of the Cooper River Bridge gives the newly unified workers a feeling that together they can overcome challenges.
January 15, 2019
Historical fiction at its finest. It’s the story of two families, one black and one white, who work at the Cigar Factory in Charleston, SC over a period of approximately fifty years, ending just after WW II. It is a narrative that covers racial relations, working and living conditions, and the eventual attempts at unionization. So much Charleston history is incorporated into the story that even Pat Conroy, who wrote the introduction, stated that he “learned a few things” about Charleston’s history.
February 10, 2021
Another interesting well researched historical novel to rate 5 stars.....enjoyed revisiting the early to mid 1900's in Charleston with the memorable Gullah people and their language, large Oak trees, Spanish moss, oysters, azaleas, and sweetgrass baskets. Appreciated the history of the cigar factory, beginning of equal rights/unions, AFL, CIO, Robert Smalls-naval pilot, Marian Anderson-singer, Langston Hughes-poet, Teddy Harleston-artist, Thurgood Marshall-politician, Mosquito Fleet boats, Clyde Lines, Cooper Bridge building, Bedon's Alley, and celebrations with boat races.
April 29, 2016
Terrific historical novel of a time period and social class of Charleston seldom explored. Strong character development and solid story woven into significant events in the history of the city, the nation and the world.
February 5, 2017
Michele Moore weaves a powerful narrative that reveals the abysmal working conditions, for the female descendants of Gullah Geechee speaking former slaves and white working women alike, in Charleston's cigar factory during the early part of the 20th Century.
June 11, 2016
Michele Moore nailed this story based on truth. She was dead on with the language without making the characters appear a caricature of the South.
September 1, 2024
Amazing, beautifully written book, with a cast of characters you will become very fond of. The story centers around a Black family and a white family living parallel lives in the Jim Crow south - but sharing the very same dreams, fears, aspirations, and will to survive. Slavery’s “over”(this has yet to be realized a full 100 years after the setting of the early days of the book) people are still hurting from WWI when WWII begins to descend. Much of the story takes place in, around and about a cigar factory. Brutal working conditions, poor pay, and constant mistreatment. But changes are coming, bringing hopefulness and even joy.
October 19, 2020
History and historical fiction are my choice. Cigar Factory has to be one of the best I have ever read. having visited Charleston many times my wife and I have always taken the time to visit the less traveled paths. We saw the Factory before it became what it is today. Michele has done an incredible job of putting all this history into the book. I loved the Gullah dialect, which made the read that much more interesting. I know where I am going once again once the pandemic is over.
Fantastic Michele!
Fantastic Michele!
February 22, 2017
This book is well written and extremely interesting. It would have been a 5 if left out the Gullah which detracts from the flow of the book. Also ending a bit rushed but maybe enjoyed the characters so much didn't want it to end.
October 9, 2020
My mother worked at this factory or so I was told all my life. It still stands in fact it's smokestacks are currently in the news. Should they stay or go. I didn't care for the ending but it was interesting not sure how factual. I wish I had it when Ma or her sister where still around to get the real story. Maybe I'll ask my older brother.
April 30, 2020
This book is Charleston Geechie through and through! I loved it!
There’s a lot of old Charleston lingo, wording very common to Charleston natives and the author spells some of the characters’ conversation wording phonically to incorporate the authenticity of Charleston’s language.
My husband’s mother and father both worked at the Cigar Factory during the 1940s & early 1950s so this story really had a connection to me through my hubby 😀
As I read through this book I’d have tons of questions I’d ask mu husband that created lots of interesting fun conversations between us....A few times he’d say....”I don’t know! You’ll have to ask sister Ann because I was very young.” Well, I love talking with Ann so I’d give her a call 👍🏼😀
Now that I’m finished reading this book I’m going to give it to her to read.
There’s a lot of old Charleston lingo, wording very common to Charleston natives and the author spells some of the characters’ conversation wording phonically to incorporate the authenticity of Charleston’s language.
My husband’s mother and father both worked at the Cigar Factory during the 1940s & early 1950s so this story really had a connection to me through my hubby 😀
As I read through this book I’d have tons of questions I’d ask mu husband that created lots of interesting fun conversations between us....A few times he’d say....”I don’t know! You’ll have to ask sister Ann because I was very young.” Well, I love talking with Ann so I’d give her a call 👍🏼😀
Now that I’m finished reading this book I’m going to give it to her to read.
July 8, 2017
Moore manages to weave worker activism, race relations, and burgeoning feminism into a well-crafted tale that brings the pre- and WWII era of downtown Charleston to life. Moore has an ability to include real Charleston characters, such as Mayor John Grace and Judge Waties Waring, that also contributes to creating an authentic atmosphere. The old cigar factory building still stands, serving now as a high-end food hall and event space. The neighborhood surrounding it remains lower-income, but the march of gentrification, which appears to be occurring in Charleston at warp speed these days, will likely wipe that away in another few years.
September 5, 2017
This was an interesting account of life among the poor cigar factory workers in Charleston, SC, in the first half of the twentieth century. Black and white women were abused and misused by owners and management in the factory, but because of segregation they were each suspicious of the other, until they eventually were forced to unite and strike in 1945. The story follows two families in particular, one black, one white. I cared for the characters and wanted to know what happened to them. And I was also saddened once again, reading about how the haves treated the have-nots, and the cruelties of a segregated society.
April 14, 2018
The South has a rich and, sometimes, tortured history. Those who enjoy reading about the South and hearing the tales may appreciate this well-researched story of Charleston, following the lives of an African American and an Irish American family whose women struggle to provide for their loved ones by working in the cigar factory, an institution in Charleston, for many years. The Gullah-Geechee speech patterns help the reader hear the rhythm and cadence of local speech. Reading "The Cigar Factory" will challenge you historically and colloquially, and you will be enriched by the lives of Cassie McGonegal and Meliah Amey Ravenal.
April 6, 2019
Interesting book about the cigar workers in Charleston in the late 19th Century. Segregated at the time the story chronicles two poor working class families (one black, one white) together with the growth of the trade union, the importance of education, the Catholic Church and faith in dealing with the harsh blows life dealt them. It also shows how the barriers between the two families slowly come down as they realize how similar the difficulties they face are and how together they can be stronger as they negotiate with the factory management. It feels like there could be a sequel as we leave them just beginning to work together. Well researched insight into the period.
June 4, 2018
I listened to the audible version of this novel which I highly recommend. The narrators did an incredible job capturing the Charleston and Gullah/Geechee accents. I could hear the accents of home and I loved it, especially since they are disappearing. The story was fascinating because of the setting. I loved being placed in historic Charleston and reading about what the city was like when my grandmother was a child. It felt familiar. There is also the social justice aspect of the novel that I loved, as well as the two main characters.
July 14, 2020
An interesting read that follows two Charleston families - one white, one black - and the women from those families who toil in the cigar factory year after year. The author does justice to the wonderful Gullah-Geechee dialect which adds to the flavor of the characters. It takes awhile to ‘hear’ the characters, but once you do, they seem to come alive. I enjoyed the book because it helps lay a foundation for the early 20th century history of Charleston and the surrounding area. Great Southern historical fiction.
July 26, 2020
Mostly listened to the audiobook version, and I'd like to commend the reader: the language, despite the new-to-me accent, was effortless to follow. The back cover misrepresents this story, which is a slow portrait of the city of Charleston and--more specifically--the cigar factory itself, over decades. I enjoyed the pacing, which highlighted that working-class everyday and way of life. I do think the story could have done without the 1893 prologue and instead started in 1917, but that's a minor quibble.
April 23, 2018
Incredible story of race, poverty, hard work, and those who sought to maintain the status quo in Charleston 1893-1946. Cigar factory workers overcome there inherent cultural biases to join together to fight for respect, dignity, and fair working conditions. Her representation of the Gullah language/dialect and phrases added to the authenticity and texture of this book.
Pat Conroy wrote a glowing forward to this debut novel. He didn't do it justice - it was far more!
Pat Conroy wrote a glowing forward to this debut novel. He didn't do it justice - it was far more!
May 13, 2018
Fascinating historical fiction about a part of Charleston I know, but not in the same context. And I learned a lot about cigars and tobacco along the way. The cigar factory was an actual business in Charleston which primarily employed both black and white women. The women worked long hours in dismal conditions on separate floors of the factory. The story of their lives, their families, and their experiences at work during the early 20th century make for an intriguing read. Intro by Pat Conroy.
February 20, 2017
While the premise of the story was the interaction between a white and black worker at the cigar factory, I didn't think it was well developed. The support and cooperation came near the end of the story. I do think the poor working conditions and the abject pay scale were well described. The story lacked true cohesiveness in my opinion.
September 20, 2022
Interesting historical fiction novel set in Charleston, South Carolina during the first half of the twentieth century. The POV shifts between two women, Meliah Amey Ravenel, and Cassie McGonegal, one black, one white, and their struggles to raise their families and create a better life out of poverty and despair. Both women work in the local cigar factory, and the storyline revolves around the working conditions and lengthy battle to get the union in.
There is a forward by Pat Conroy, who is an editor for the publishing house, which really sets the tone and gives great background for the novel. This is an academic book, the author was a fellow in the English Department at Piedmont College, and the book was published by a university press. But far from being dry and uninteresting, this well researched novel is rich with historical details and worth your time to read. It was also adapted into a play, which I think would be interesting to see, as well.
There is a forward by Pat Conroy, who is an editor for the publishing house, which really sets the tone and gives great background for the novel. This is an academic book, the author was a fellow in the English Department at Piedmont College, and the book was published by a university press. But far from being dry and uninteresting, this well researched novel is rich with historical details and worth your time to read. It was also adapted into a play, which I think would be interesting to see, as well.
June 17, 2022
Interesting historical novel about early Charleston starting in the late 1800's. The story contrasts the life of the poor immigrant Irish and the poor southern black. She focuses on 2 families that both work in the local cigar factory.
Despite the ignorant treatment of the blacks, ultimately the story coincides with the women voting in a union and realizing there's no difference in human relations except for people's prejudices and the way women were treating during the war. The story progresses from hand rolling the cigars to automation.
Despite the ignorant treatment of the blacks, ultimately the story coincides with the women voting in a union and realizing there's no difference in human relations except for people's prejudices and the way women were treating during the war. The story progresses from hand rolling the cigars to automation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2023
Having lived in Charleston (Johns Island) for the last 20+ years and worked literally next door to the cigar factory for about 4 of those years, I fell in love with this book. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is that I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed it as much if I didn't have the personal connection to the geography and culture of the area. As an epilogue, note that as of 2015ish, the cigar factory building has now been completely renovated/gentrified with upscale restaurants, stores, and a local bank...I guess that's progress?
May 29, 2018
I strongly recommend this book. It gives a snap shot of the relationship between working whites and blacks in Charleston from the 1920’s-1940’s and reasons that even today many Charlestonians oppose unions and outside organizers. The two families the novel focuses on are interesting. It is fun to learn how current landmarks and buildings in Charleston functioned 80-90 years ago. Life certainly was not easy for working folks.
May 21, 2017
Very good. The story of the cigar factory as seen through the eyes of a black woman and a white woman who by the end of the book discover they have so very much in common. The conditions the women worked were horrendous. The lives of the poor working class were abominable only finding relief when they finally joined the CIO. I loved the Gullah Geechee since that is my accent!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews