Winner of the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography, Mark Bostridge’s Florence Nightingale is a masterful and enjoyable biography of one of Britain’s most iconic heroines.
Whether honoured and admired or criticized and ridiculed, Florence Nightingale has invariably been misrepresented and misunderstood. As the Lady with the Lamp, ministering to the wounded and dying of the Crimean War, she offers an enduring image of sentimental appeal and one that is permanently lodged in our national consciousness. But the awesome scale of her achievements over the course of her 90 years is infinitely more troubling – and inspiring – than this mythical simplification.
Winner of the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography, Mark Bostridge’s Florence Nightingale is a masterful and enjoyable biography of one of Britain’s most iconic heroines. Whether honoured and admired or criticized and ridiculed, Florence Nightingale has invariably been misrepresented and misunderstood. As the Lady with the Lamp, ministering to the wounded and dying of the Crimean War, she offers an enduring image of sentimental appeal and one that is permanently lodged in our national consciousness. But the awesome scale of her achievements over the course of her 90 years is infinitely more troubling – and inspiring – than this mythical simplification.
War, I know, is a serious game, but sometimes very humble actors are of great use in it. Mary Seacole wrote this book to share her adventures with her fans, but also as a means to make money as she found herself having to declare herself bankrupt upon her return from the Crimea.