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Florence Nightingale
The letters in this volume come from the period in Florence Nightingale's life that brought her lasting fame. The letters, written amid scenes of horror and chaos, to officials, family and friends, express her hopes and fears and the doubts and frustrations of her arduous service.
326 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 1997
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Did Not Finish
July 26, 2026DNF. Skimmed. After reading a lot about Florence Nightingale, including her own writings, it seems to me that the story of her founding modern nursing and public health science is more legend than fact. This book helped confirm that. The editor notes:
"Florence Nightingale is generally credited with being the founder of modern nursing, but this is not strictly the case, even in Great Britain. In this, as in the wider sphere of medical and military reform, she exemplified a broader movement, an ideal, which came to fruition in her career, and to which she gave impetus by her life and work."
In other words, she is a useful iconic representative of Sanitarian reform, but it's not clear what great lessons there are to learn from her actual writings.
"Florence Nightingale is generally credited with being the founder of modern nursing, but this is not strictly the case, even in Great Britain. In this, as in the wider sphere of medical and military reform, she exemplified a broader movement, an ideal, which came to fruition in her career, and to which she gave impetus by her life and work."
In other words, she is a useful iconic representative of Sanitarian reform, but it's not clear what great lessons there are to learn from her actual writings.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review