Domina by Barbara Wood

by Barbara Wood

Paperback

Published January 1, 1656

About the author

Barbara Wood was born on 30 January 1947 in Warrington, Lancashire, England, UK. Together with her parents and older brother, she immigrated to the United States. She grew up in Southern California and attended Los Angeles Schools. After High School, Barbara attended the University of California at Santa Barbara but left to train as a surgical technician. During this time, Barbara held numerous jobs, before she sold her first novel in 1976. A few years prior, Barbara met her husband George. To date, Barbara has written 22 books, including two under the pen name Kathryn Harvey, these books are quite different from the Barbara Wood's novels and she, her agent and editor agreed that a pen name would serve to indicate the difference. She is an international best selling author with books translated into over 30 languages. The reader is transported to exotic countries that Barbara has meticulously researched to provide her fans with a true sense of the culture and history relevant to each story. At the heart of every book, is a strong, independent woman. Currently, Barbara is busy working on her next story that will, no doubt, showcase an extraordinary heroine in an exciting and intriguing adventure.
When not writing, Barbara often takes time to enjoy the work of other authors, and that of a certain well-known martial artist, whose name is listed among the "Ten things you might not know about Barbara.

Reviews

[Cuquis Sandoval]

Bárbara Wood tiene 22 libros escritos y ha sido publicada en 30 idiomas. Domina es una novela muy intensa. La escritora nos lleva de la mano por distintos senderos creados por su imaginación y otros tantos por la realidad. Nos permite conocer el contexto imperante en 1860, tanto en Londres como en Estados Unidos, donde predomina el androcentrismo y la mujer es relegada a una simple cosificación, y debe de sortear muchos obstáculos para ingresar a las instituciones educativas.
Desde el mismo nombre, "Domina", en masculino, nos remite a la forma en que los médicos eran llamados.
También nos muestra el predominio de la mentira farmaceútica, que vendía remedios alternativos que prometían curar todo, hasta que ella, investiga los ingredientes y se decide a enfrentar y denunciarlos.
Se encuentra una perspectiva de género muy marcada, los comportamientos predominantes, el amor y la amistad.

[Audrey Anonymous · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read DOMINA because I was in a very specific mood -- I wanted to read a romance novel featuring a woman doctor as a heroine during a time when it would be nearly impossible for women to be doctors.

Barbara Wood's Domina is an invaluable piece of historical fiction. There are so many details about the state of medicine in the late 1800s, especially in terms of how medicine treated female patients. I could tell that the writer had a medical background -- so thorough was her understanding of the long, arduous journey it takes to be a doctor and the day to day realities of treating patients.

Despite the richly researched history, overall I found DOMINA to be dated and very lacking in romance. The way Jewish, Chinese, or Mexican characters were characterized made me cringe. The love story is severely underdeveloped, and the ending feels abrupt and rushed.

There are aspects of the story that feel very Dickensian, farfetched, and soap-operatic, which I didn't mind so much. There are cameos by Elizabeth Blackwell, the Astors, Ulysses S Grant, and Mark Twain.

The research is expertly done, but as a narrative DOMINA ultimately falls short.