True historians will probably scoff at a book like this: the tale of a headstrong girl who, inspired by Florence Nightingale, goes to the battlefields of the Crimea and her female cousin, who despite being terrified of breaking conventions, goes to look for her when she becomes missing. Nevertheless, it conjures magnificently the mores of the times and vividly contrasts the comfortable life enjoyed by well-off Victorians with the horrors of a war so ill conducted.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 48 November 2008 ) |
