Former Derry Journal reporter Claire Allan is going back in time with her latest bestseller – which delves into the lives of the women who worked in Derry’s most famous shirt factory – Tillie & Henderson’s.

Writing as Freya Kennedy, Claire’s newest novel Wartime with the Irish Factory Girls comes as the first in a brand new series, and a brand new genre, for the local scribe.

“The Irish Factory Girls series is my first foray in writing saga," Claire said. “For the last ten years I have been focused on writing psychological thrillers while experimenting with new genres under the pseudonym Freya Kennedy.”

‘Freya Kennedy’, Claire says, was created as an antithesis to the dark and heavy material she explores in her bestselling thrillers.

The Irish Factory Girls series is Claire Allan's first foray in writing saga.

placeholder image — The Irish Factory Girls series is Claire Allan's first foray in writing saga.

"My books are published in multiple languages around the world and I’ve been very lucky to build a loyal readership. But by their nature, they require a lot of research into very dark places and I found this difficult to manage emotionally.”

Claire’s thrillers have dealt with subject matters such as coercive control, the rise of the Incel movement and even child murder.

"I started writing as Freya Kennedy so those books would act as a sort of palate cleanser between the darker titles. So far I’ve completed two series – both very much in the rom-com genre. Wartime with the Irish Factory Girls doesn’t offer the same laughs at the other Freya Kennedy titles, but it does offer something that abounds in Derry – tales of strong, stoic and hard-working women.”

The author carried extensive research before writing the first in the new series – delving into her experience as a reporter for the Derry Journal to bring the story to life.

‘Freya Kennedy’, Claire says, was created as an antithesis to the dark and heavy material she explores in her bestselling thrillers.

"My work colleague Erin Hutcheon, who I called my work wife, wrote a series for the ‘Journal’ called Memories of Derry where she spoke to many factory girls about their times on the factory floors. The real life experience and colour of their stories have formed the backbone of this book – from the women banging on the pipes to share the ‘bars’ to them making toast on the irons. In fact, Erin had me well warned I needed to mention the toast!”

Obviously there was a lot of wider research to be done as well.

"I wanted to make the book as historically accurate as possible and I also wanted to use the series to show Derry’s place in World War Two history – it was an education to me to look back at what life was like not that long ago. The conditions, for example, that my own grandparents lived in as children were not atypical. Housing was a major issue as was the difficulty of the men of the city finding work.

"That women kept everything ticking over is truly a testament to their strength and determination.”

Wartime with the Irish Factory Girls is Claire’s 25th published novel – but she says she is probably most nervous about the response to this one than any other.

"This is such an important part of Derry history and the factory girls deserve to be celebrated. I only hope I have done the women of the city proud.”

Wartime with the Irish Factory Girls will be launched on Saturday, September 5, at 2pm in Little Acorns bookshop – and will be available from all good bookshops.