A Penny a Shell - A Discussion with Antony Bell
Battles of the First World War Podcast
Mike Cunha
4.8 • 838 Ratings
🗓️ 15 March 2026
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Author Antony J. Bell comes on the podcast to discuss his novel "A Penny a Shell."
From the author's website:
"In a WWI munitions factory, the lives of three women converge on a dangerous production line where a single spark means the difference between a bonus and a burial.
Eliza Wren, a desperate mother, races to pay a looming debt to save her family from eviction. Sarah Jennings, a defiant outcast, endures the factory's poison to fund an escape from a life of cruelty. Lucy Atkinson, a grieving daughter, works to honor her brother's memory and support her broken parents.
Driven by the promise of a "penny a shell" bonus, the women push themselves and their machinery to the breaking point. But as the pressure from watchers with stopwatches mounts and the equipment begins to fail, they must decide what they are willing to risk for survival.
Based on the true, forgotten story of the Barnbow Lasses, A Penny a Shell is a powerful and moving tribute to the quiet courage and fierce solidarity of the women who fought their own war on the home front."
Where to buy: https://antonyjbell.com/books/a-penny-a-shell/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Call my wife. |
| 0:01.6 | Calling UK Wildlife. |
| 0:03.6 | Voice assistance not working for you. |
| 0:05.7 | BlackRock Investment Trust has a lot working for you. |
| 0:08.2 | Get to know them at blackrock.com. |
| 0:10.0 | Capital at risk marketing material. |
| 0:11.4 | BlackRock Investment Management UK Limited. |
| 0:13.0 | Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The |
| 0:23.6 | The The The Hey, folks, welcome to the battles of the First World War podcast. |
| 1:09.3 | Joining us today is Anthony J. Bell, here to discuss his |
| 1:12.5 | novel, A Penny a Shell. Anthony J. Bell is a historical fiction author and former member of the |
| 1:19.3 | British Armed Forces, whose work is rooted in the overlooked stories of the First World War. Raised in a |
| 1:26.5 | working-class Yorkshire family, he brings both lived experience and academic insight |
| 1:31.7 | to his storytelling, holding a history degree from the Harriet Watt University in Edinburgh. |
| 1:37.1 | Hope I pronounce that correctly. |
| 1:38.7 | Almost. |
| 1:39.7 | Oh, how is it pronounced? |
| 1:41.7 | Harriet Watt. |
| 1:42.7 | Harry, oh. |
| 1:43.7 | Yeah, sorry. So it's, I get, I probably Harriet, what? Harry, oh. Yeah. |
| 1:44.5 | So, it's, I probably spelled it wrong. |
| 1:47.5 | I normally do. |
... |
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