A Penny a Shell

By Antony J Bell

Finalist - 2025 Wishing Shelf Book Awards
"A masterclass in suspense... haunting, beautiful, and breathtakingly tense." - Hugh Van Es

Yorkshire, 1916.

At the Barnbow munitions factory near Leeds, women are paid a penny for every shell they fill.

Speed means money.
Speed means survival.

But in a factory thick with explosive TNT dust, speed also means death.

A Penny a Shell follows one day in the lives of three working-class women-Eliza, Sarah, and Lucy-whose paths converge on the factory floor of Room 42. As pressure mounts and danger closes in, their stories build toward the real explosion that killed thirty-five women on 5 December 1916.

Inspired by true events, factory records, and family history, this is a powerful World War 1 historical novel of resilience, friendship, and the hidden cost of war on the women of the British home front.

Perfect for readers of The Nightingale and The Alice Network.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1919375163
• ISBN13: 9781919375168
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Goldfish
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"