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Nightingale
Mayfair, 1910. At the age of ninety, Florence Nightingale is frail and no longer of sound mind. After a celebrated career as a nurse, writer and statistician, she now leads a reclusive existence. One summer evening she is astonished to receive a a young man named Silas Bradley, who claims to have met her during the Crimean War fifty-five years ago. But how can this be? And how does the elusive Jean Frawley connect their two lives? In this eagerly anticipated novel, Laura Elvery shows why she is one of the most lauded writers of her generation. Nightingale is a luminous tale of faith and love, bravery and care, and the vitality of women' s work.
223 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 29, 2025
20 people are currently reading
384 people want to read
About the author
Laura Elvery
10 books39 followersLaura Elvery is a writer from Brisbane. Her work has been published in The Big Issue Fiction Edition, Review of Australian Fiction, Kill Your Darlings and Griffith Review. She has won the Josephine Ulrick Prize for Literature and the Margaret River Short Story Competition, and was awarded a Griffith Review Queensland Writing Fellowship. She has been shortlisted for the Overland NUW Fair Australia, Neilma Sidney and Victoria University prizes. In 2016, Laura was shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
May 25, 2025
Nightingale is a bit discombobulating, dream-like, with moments of sharp and penetrating insight. On every page you’ll find palpable frustration with the limitations placed on women, and the way that women’s work, knowledge, and power is overlooked or – worse – actively dismissed. So, even though it might be challenging to follow the narrative itself, you’ll still catch a very important ‘vibe’.
My full review of Nightingale is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My full review of Nightingale is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
September 7, 2025
I really liked the structure of this novel. I think it was richer for having the alternate perspectives. I imagine Florence has been examined and written about so much that a fictional biography would not have added to her story. Her legacy and impact on others felt more valuable. It is unlikely her view could have been as candid as Silas or Jean’s perspectives. Thinking about the PTSD she would have suffered is also a powerful idea the Elbert has woven into this novel. The brevity also felt appropriate for a woman who was very much inclined to get quickly to the point of matters.
June 1, 2025
...i don't get it.
June 16, 2025
Laura Elvery’s Nightingale is a luminous, layered novel that delicately explores memory, war, and the cost of care through the intertwined lives of three characters: Florence Nightingale in her twilight years, Jean Frawley — a nurse working under her legacy — and Silas Bradley, a soldier who claims an impossible connection to Nightingale during the Crimean War.
While it’s not a biography of Florence Nightingale as the title might suggest, the novel uses her legacy to explore the emotional and ethical complexities of nursing, particularly in the context of war and sacrifice.
At its heart is Jean, a nurse whose story unfolds during the Crimean War — a time when caregiving was raw, relentless, and often without hope. Her relationship with Silas, a soldier, is beautifully rendered and full of quiet heartbreak. Their shared experience speaks to the kind of nursing that isn’t about cure, but presence — something that resonates deeply when you’re learning to sit with the discomfort of what can’t be fixed.
The novel doesn’t idealise nurses as angels or heroes. It presents them as humans navigating exhaustion, grief, and moral uncertainty — themes that are incredibly relevant to early career nurses who are still figuring out what it means to be a caregiver in a system that can feel overwhelming. Elvery writes with poetic precision, and though the narrative can feel scattered at times, especially with the side characters and Nightingale herself, Jean’s perspective is where the story truly finds its heart.
What resonated most was the reminder that nursing isn’t always about saving lives — sometimes it’s about bearing witness, offering comfort, and holding space in the hardest moments. Nightingale captures the quiet, often unseen impact of care, and reminded me that showing up with empathy and presence can be just as powerful as any clinical skill.
While it’s not a biography of Florence Nightingale as the title might suggest, the novel uses her legacy to explore the emotional and ethical complexities of nursing, particularly in the context of war and sacrifice.
At its heart is Jean, a nurse whose story unfolds during the Crimean War — a time when caregiving was raw, relentless, and often without hope. Her relationship with Silas, a soldier, is beautifully rendered and full of quiet heartbreak. Their shared experience speaks to the kind of nursing that isn’t about cure, but presence — something that resonates deeply when you’re learning to sit with the discomfort of what can’t be fixed.
The novel doesn’t idealise nurses as angels or heroes. It presents them as humans navigating exhaustion, grief, and moral uncertainty — themes that are incredibly relevant to early career nurses who are still figuring out what it means to be a caregiver in a system that can feel overwhelming. Elvery writes with poetic precision, and though the narrative can feel scattered at times, especially with the side characters and Nightingale herself, Jean’s perspective is where the story truly finds its heart.
What resonated most was the reminder that nursing isn’t always about saving lives — sometimes it’s about bearing witness, offering comfort, and holding space in the hardest moments. Nightingale captures the quiet, often unseen impact of care, and reminded me that showing up with empathy and presence can be just as powerful as any clinical skill.
May 28, 2025
I was really excited by the prospective of this novel as I typically like historical fiction, and it was exciting to have a Brisbane writer publishing locally… Unfortunately though, I couldn’t finish this book. Another reviewer used ‘discombobulating’ to describe the writing style, and I totally agree. I found it difficult to follow the narrative among Florence’s rambling and disjointed thoughts, and sadly I just never got to a point of clarity with it.
May 27, 2025
Near the suburb where I spent most of my Australian childhood, there were numerous street names alluding to the Crimean War (1853-1856), commemorating battles, military leaders, a couple of ships, and also one very famous nurse. This was because the suburb was developed in the 19th century when Melburnians were avid consumers of news from Britain and memories of that faraway war were fresh. So Balaclava — the suburb and the railway station, and Balaclava Road itself — commemorates the Battle of Balaclava, 1854; with other battles commemorated by Alma Rd, Inkerman St, Malakoff St and Crimea St itself. Sebastopol Street commemorates the Siege of Sevastopol. Various notables include [Sir John] Pakington St, [Earl of] Cardigan St, [Commander Lord] Raglan St, while Westbury Grove and Westbury St commemorate soldier-turned-author Frank Alma Westbury who emigrated to Australia in 1866. The troopship Mooltan and HMS Blenheim gave their names to an avenue and a street.
And Nightingale Street, which runs between the railway line and Chapel Street, commemorates the achievements of Florence Nightingale, a.k.a. 'the lady with the lamp' who revolutionised nursing and saved the lives of countless soldiers.
The Crimean War was one of those big imperial wars when competing empires used men as cannon fodder in pursuit of ambitions that seem meaningless now, and as you can see at Wikipedia, they were so casual about the death toll that even now the number of casualties varies wildly depending on whose calculations are used. But one thing is undisputed: Casualties include death by disease. In all cases, death by disease exceeded the sum of 'killed in action' or 'died of wounds'.
As I wrote before in a post about Helen Keller, I learned about heroic women of the past from the children’s annuals that I used to receive at Christmastime. One of those was Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), and the story of her life is the frame for Laura Elvery's debut novel, Nightingale. Part historical fiction, part ghost story, the novel shines a light on the way Nightingale's pioneering nursing regime reduced death rates in the Crimean War, and made her an icon long before celebrity culture degraded the term. The story proper begins in 1910 with her narration in her very old age, when she is mostly alone in her bedroom with her memories, tended by her housekeeper and nurse Mabel.
But this beginning is preceded by a prologue — a vivid scene set on the Acropolis in 1850, when Florence is pondering how to avoid banalities in a letter home, and comes across some boys at play. The game looks complicated, and she watches intently to get the details right for her letter to Aunt Mai.
Florence intervenes, but not without an analytical pause. She reasons that she will use her charm and sense of justice, her reasoning, which her father had praised in the past. This Florence is no Victorian female stereotype: she is calm, methodical, and she will get her way. This Florence is an observer who solves problems, and she will have agency even in an age that denies it to most women.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/05/27/n...
And Nightingale Street, which runs between the railway line and Chapel Street, commemorates the achievements of Florence Nightingale, a.k.a. 'the lady with the lamp' who revolutionised nursing and saved the lives of countless soldiers.
The Crimean War was one of those big imperial wars when competing empires used men as cannon fodder in pursuit of ambitions that seem meaningless now, and as you can see at Wikipedia, they were so casual about the death toll that even now the number of casualties varies wildly depending on whose calculations are used. But one thing is undisputed: Casualties include death by disease. In all cases, death by disease exceeded the sum of 'killed in action' or 'died of wounds'.
As I wrote before in a post about Helen Keller, I learned about heroic women of the past from the children’s annuals that I used to receive at Christmastime. One of those was Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), and the story of her life is the frame for Laura Elvery's debut novel, Nightingale. Part historical fiction, part ghost story, the novel shines a light on the way Nightingale's pioneering nursing regime reduced death rates in the Crimean War, and made her an icon long before celebrity culture degraded the term. The story proper begins in 1910 with her narration in her very old age, when she is mostly alone in her bedroom with her memories, tended by her housekeeper and nurse Mabel.
But this beginning is preceded by a prologue — a vivid scene set on the Acropolis in 1850, when Florence is pondering how to avoid banalities in a letter home, and comes across some boys at play. The game looks complicated, and she watches intently to get the details right for her letter to Aunt Mai.
Then from the middle of the boys' circle the white ball began to rise, and her mind narrowed as she tried to keep up with what she was seeing. The ball was rising too slowly to be something that had been kicked up from the earth. And the word that came to her began with the shape of her mouth, which was making an O.
Owl.
The thing they were playing with was an owl.
Just a baby. (p.2)
Florence intervenes, but not without an analytical pause. She reasons that she will use her charm and sense of justice, her reasoning, which her father had praised in the past. This Florence is no Victorian female stereotype: she is calm, methodical, and she will get her way. This Florence is an observer who solves problems, and she will have agency even in an age that denies it to most women.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/05/27/n...
June 21, 2025
I love this kind of book, where a clever writer takes a well known figure and recreates them. Florence N is at the end of her life. We go back to 1853 Scutari, then onto 1910 London. Three characters, Florence, Silas and Jean make up this sad story. Writing is exquisite, you can tell she’s a poet.
June 6, 2025
Idk if I missed the point or there wasn’t one
July 4, 2025
A gorgeously composed story with every sentence as elegant and finely crafted as one of those cakes on Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking and yes I did recently watch that show while delirious with a fever why do you ask?
In conclusion: this book = nine thumbs up.
In conclusion: this book = nine thumbs up.
June 23, 2025
London 1910, and Florence Nightingale, aged 90, is nearing the end of her life. This is not about Flo however, she is merely a vessel through which the author tells the story of Jean and Silas with some reference to the Crimean and the role of, expectations (lack of) and limitations placed on women and nurses.
I struggled with this novel. The ghost visits and/or Florence's lack of cognition didn't quite work for me.
I struggled with this novel. The ghost visits and/or Florence's lack of cognition didn't quite work for me.
December 5, 2025
Got halfway through and realised I had bought the wrong book 🫠 The Nightingale different to Nightingale note to self. It was ok an easy read which was good
June 9, 2025
Gorgeous and contemplative. While ostensibly a reflection on Florence Nightingale and the role of women in society, its evocative reflective style elevated this above simple historical fiction with a message. More like a meditative love story. And I loved it ...
May 8, 2025
Laura Elvery is an author of unbridled curiosity, able to take a single spark of inspiration and create an entire world that is based in fact but simultaneously enriched, enlarged and enlightened by her fictional skills. With two collections of award-winning short stories to her credit, her latest work – NIGHTINGALE (UQP 2025) – is a novel loosely based on the life of Florence Nightingale, the spark of the initial idea created when Elvery found a second-hand biography in a shop in Oxford in 2022.
I say ‘loosely based’, as although the famous nurse Florence Nightingale is at the heart of this novel, and we read a third of the book from her perspective, Elvery’s imagination has taken full flight with the creation of two other key characters, Silas and Jean. In what is part historical, part ghost story, part clever invention, NIGHTINGALE features all three protagonists in equal intensity and agency, the result an unforgettable story of love, passion, desire, ambition, duty and responsibility, scaffolded by the horrific truths of the visceral brutality of war, and lightened by the compassion of those women in past conflicts who cared for the men who were fighting.
Much of Nightingale’s story is set in Mayfair in 1910, where at the age of 90, the now frail (and perhaps delusional?) Florence lives a reclusive life, cared for by a companion who sees to her daily needs, much as Florence dedicated her whole life to caring for others. The ‘lady of the lamp’ was not only a nurse ahead of her time (sanitation! ventilation!), but also a writer and statistician. Now she waits quietly for her own death. But one summer evening she receives an astonishing visitor, a young man Silas Bradley, who claims to have known Florence during the Crimean War 55 years earlier. Of course this is impossible, as Silas is in his 20’s. And yet, with everything Florence has experienced in the last years of her life, she is not surprised by this inevitable reunion. Her main question is what does it mean, for her?
We are also treated to Florence Nightingale’s life as a child, a young woman and during her career as a respected nurse, a medical professional who advised doctors and surgeons, and led a remarkable band of female nurses who would change the way of thinking about wound care, cleanliness and the general encouragement of recovery and good health.
In between, we are given the perspective of Silas Bradley, who was indeed a young soldier in the Crimean War – his hopes and expectations, his dreams and ambitions and fears. To say much more would be a spoiler but expect the unexpected.
The middle of some novels can be ‘saggy’ or slow, a stilted connection between the shocking opening and the satisfying resolution, but in NIGHTINGALE, Elvery avoids this entirely through the point of view of the enigmatic Jean Frawley, the third main character. Again, to say much more would be a spoiler, but Jean is the pivotal protagonist who pins Florence and Silas together, and her life is crucial to the outcomes for both. Her actions are incomprehensible and prohibited while at the same time being as inevitable, natural and believable as breathing.
Through these three characters, we glimpse the horrors of war, the vivid, raw and messy complexities of injuries and blood and ill-equipped surgeries and impatient doctors and soldiers/patients as frightened as children. But we also witness the care and compassion of nurses, the vulnerability and strengths of women called to nursing as a vocation, the remarkable acts of devotion and kindness, and the courage of women well versed in family care but ill-prepared for the visceral reality of conflict. The women in NIGHTINGALE have agency, feelings, ambitions, desires, plans, secrets and deep wells of bravery despite all they must confront.
NIGHTINGALE is brilliant, original and haunting, told in three compelling and authentic voices; it is sharp, witty, ferocious, tender, wise and engaging. Like a lamp light in the darkness, NIGHTINGALE illuminates the life of this remarkable woman in an inventive and crystalising way.
I say ‘loosely based’, as although the famous nurse Florence Nightingale is at the heart of this novel, and we read a third of the book from her perspective, Elvery’s imagination has taken full flight with the creation of two other key characters, Silas and Jean. In what is part historical, part ghost story, part clever invention, NIGHTINGALE features all three protagonists in equal intensity and agency, the result an unforgettable story of love, passion, desire, ambition, duty and responsibility, scaffolded by the horrific truths of the visceral brutality of war, and lightened by the compassion of those women in past conflicts who cared for the men who were fighting.
Much of Nightingale’s story is set in Mayfair in 1910, where at the age of 90, the now frail (and perhaps delusional?) Florence lives a reclusive life, cared for by a companion who sees to her daily needs, much as Florence dedicated her whole life to caring for others. The ‘lady of the lamp’ was not only a nurse ahead of her time (sanitation! ventilation!), but also a writer and statistician. Now she waits quietly for her own death. But one summer evening she receives an astonishing visitor, a young man Silas Bradley, who claims to have known Florence during the Crimean War 55 years earlier. Of course this is impossible, as Silas is in his 20’s. And yet, with everything Florence has experienced in the last years of her life, she is not surprised by this inevitable reunion. Her main question is what does it mean, for her?
We are also treated to Florence Nightingale’s life as a child, a young woman and during her career as a respected nurse, a medical professional who advised doctors and surgeons, and led a remarkable band of female nurses who would change the way of thinking about wound care, cleanliness and the general encouragement of recovery and good health.
In between, we are given the perspective of Silas Bradley, who was indeed a young soldier in the Crimean War – his hopes and expectations, his dreams and ambitions and fears. To say much more would be a spoiler but expect the unexpected.
The middle of some novels can be ‘saggy’ or slow, a stilted connection between the shocking opening and the satisfying resolution, but in NIGHTINGALE, Elvery avoids this entirely through the point of view of the enigmatic Jean Frawley, the third main character. Again, to say much more would be a spoiler, but Jean is the pivotal protagonist who pins Florence and Silas together, and her life is crucial to the outcomes for both. Her actions are incomprehensible and prohibited while at the same time being as inevitable, natural and believable as breathing.
Through these three characters, we glimpse the horrors of war, the vivid, raw and messy complexities of injuries and blood and ill-equipped surgeries and impatient doctors and soldiers/patients as frightened as children. But we also witness the care and compassion of nurses, the vulnerability and strengths of women called to nursing as a vocation, the remarkable acts of devotion and kindness, and the courage of women well versed in family care but ill-prepared for the visceral reality of conflict. The women in NIGHTINGALE have agency, feelings, ambitions, desires, plans, secrets and deep wells of bravery despite all they must confront.
NIGHTINGALE is brilliant, original and haunting, told in three compelling and authentic voices; it is sharp, witty, ferocious, tender, wise and engaging. Like a lamp light in the darkness, NIGHTINGALE illuminates the life of this remarkable woman in an inventive and crystalising way.
May 15, 2025
I was pleasantly surprised by the shifts in narrative perspective, which stopped this from becoming the reminisces of a woman on her death bed. I am still intrigued though at the choice to set Jean's story in third person rather than the first of the other two.
This novel intersects nicely with some of my favourite niche interests: the Victorian gothic and the medical profession in that era, complete with its charnel-houses and bonesaws and heroin. This novel delivers this in very satisfactory doses, never overdone.
The core of this is about characters trying to find their home, or belonging somewhere, manifested in Silas's roaming ghost, still searching for answers. It did give echoes of Lincoln in the Bardo, in a good way.
"It wasn't pain exactly, but my arms against my body had a fizz to them, as if bubbles sat right beneath the surface of my skin."
"Jean caught her scribbling in the corner of the room while the poor soldier had his arm taken off at the shoulder blade. (A measure of chloroform. A surgeon's saw. Minutes later dead, hopefully before he noticed the hideous once-piece of him gone thudding into a tub.)"
"And I am twenty-seven but I am also eighty-three. I have no children. I've lived two lives and yet a full life has quite escaped me. I remember the Crimea, ships arriving on the coal-black sea. Steam and smoke rose from their decks and I saw their huge lumbering bodies as though we were part of a game being played invisibly from above."
This novel intersects nicely with some of my favourite niche interests: the Victorian gothic and the medical profession in that era, complete with its charnel-houses and bonesaws and heroin. This novel delivers this in very satisfactory doses, never overdone.
The core of this is about characters trying to find their home, or belonging somewhere, manifested in Silas's roaming ghost, still searching for answers. It did give echoes of Lincoln in the Bardo, in a good way.
"It wasn't pain exactly, but my arms against my body had a fizz to them, as if bubbles sat right beneath the surface of my skin."
"Jean caught her scribbling in the corner of the room while the poor soldier had his arm taken off at the shoulder blade. (A measure of chloroform. A surgeon's saw. Minutes later dead, hopefully before he noticed the hideous once-piece of him gone thudding into a tub.)"
"And I am twenty-seven but I am also eighty-three. I have no children. I've lived two lives and yet a full life has quite escaped me. I remember the Crimea, ships arriving on the coal-black sea. Steam and smoke rose from their decks and I saw their huge lumbering bodies as though we were part of a game being played invisibly from above."
May 31, 2025
Historical fiction about Florence Nightingale - Count me in.
Full disclosure I read Notes on Nursing by Florence Nightingale over forty five years ago.
It left a lasting impression and I can still recall Nightingale pleading for basic sanitary conditions for the hospital, which astoundingly were novel ideas before Nightingale came along.
Nightingale outlines the huge challenges and primitive conditions during the Crimean war.
However this seminal work is not credited in the acknowledgments section of Laura Elvery's first novel. Lots of biography's are, but Notes on Nursing is Nightingale in her own words.
In this novel we find Florence Nightingale living a very privileged life, where she acknowledges she could have had an easy life as an upper class wife and mother, but she choose a life of complete struggle at the coalface of the immense brutality of war.
The narration in the book shifts from Florence to a soldier in the Crimean war named Silas to a young nurse and ex-nanny named Jean. They converge at the port of Marseilles and later in the Crimean hospital.
These incidents are replayed and the reader is left perpetually wondering what is real and what isn't. The writing is evocative and compelling. Some may find the changing voices and time frames challenging, but the characters will you on, wondering what is to become of them.
A striking debut novel, read in two days.
Full disclosure I read Notes on Nursing by Florence Nightingale over forty five years ago.
It left a lasting impression and I can still recall Nightingale pleading for basic sanitary conditions for the hospital, which astoundingly were novel ideas before Nightingale came along.
Nightingale outlines the huge challenges and primitive conditions during the Crimean war.
However this seminal work is not credited in the acknowledgments section of Laura Elvery's first novel. Lots of biography's are, but Notes on Nursing is Nightingale in her own words.
In this novel we find Florence Nightingale living a very privileged life, where she acknowledges she could have had an easy life as an upper class wife and mother, but she choose a life of complete struggle at the coalface of the immense brutality of war.
The narration in the book shifts from Florence to a soldier in the Crimean war named Silas to a young nurse and ex-nanny named Jean. They converge at the port of Marseilles and later in the Crimean hospital.
These incidents are replayed and the reader is left perpetually wondering what is real and what isn't. The writing is evocative and compelling. Some may find the changing voices and time frames challenging, but the characters will you on, wondering what is to become of them.
A striking debut novel, read in two days.
June 4, 2025
A good read if you like 19th Century historical fiction, quick reads and stories about women rising up in the workplace.
Nightingale has little to do with Florence Nightingale, so if you wanted a deep dive into her life find another book. Instead the titular character is a vessel for the brief but moving love story between Jean, a nurse under Nightingale’s watch, and Silas, a soldier in the Crimea War.
This is a quick and mostly easy-to-read book. There are moments that rely on a lot on foreknowledge of who Florence Nightingale was and why she is significant. I also found myself re-reading certain sections and the ending because it was difficult to follow how narrative threads were tied up.
It was refreshing to read what is essentially a book about war through the lens of a woman, stripped of any sentimentality about heroics and bravery. Thousand of men are dying under horrible conditions, their nurses are drinking to cope and despite their best efforts, not really saving anyone. It’s not healing, it’s palliative care.
Elvery writes beautifully. One of the major strengths of this book is how rich the world feels through its description. It’s easy to see how the author fell in love with this period of time. Unfortunately the characters and how they connect in the wider narrative falls flat. The book could have cut out Nightingale and Mabel entirely and just been about Jean and Silas as it’s their moments when the story truly shines like a lamp in the dark.
Nightingale has little to do with Florence Nightingale, so if you wanted a deep dive into her life find another book. Instead the titular character is a vessel for the brief but moving love story between Jean, a nurse under Nightingale’s watch, and Silas, a soldier in the Crimea War.
This is a quick and mostly easy-to-read book. There are moments that rely on a lot on foreknowledge of who Florence Nightingale was and why she is significant. I also found myself re-reading certain sections and the ending because it was difficult to follow how narrative threads were tied up.
It was refreshing to read what is essentially a book about war through the lens of a woman, stripped of any sentimentality about heroics and bravery. Thousand of men are dying under horrible conditions, their nurses are drinking to cope and despite their best efforts, not really saving anyone. It’s not healing, it’s palliative care.
Elvery writes beautifully. One of the major strengths of this book is how rich the world feels through its description. It’s easy to see how the author fell in love with this period of time. Unfortunately the characters and how they connect in the wider narrative falls flat. The book could have cut out Nightingale and Mabel entirely and just been about Jean and Silas as it’s their moments when the story truly shines like a lamp in the dark.
May 30, 2025
Fell in love with this book after purchasing a signed copy at the Avid Reader launch!
Laura Elvery's: The Nightingale is an ambitious literary working.
I grabbed my copy at her Avid Reader launch, at South’s Leagues Club, and I'm so glad I did.
I was hooked from the moment Laura started reading that first chapter.
Eleanor is such a fantastic character, with her quiet strength while caring for wounded soldiers just broke my heart. And the way she thinks about her brother during those intense medical scenes? I definitely hit me in the feels.
Being a Brisbane local, I loved recognising the Queensland settings throughout the story. That chapter at Victoria Barracks (where I used to work in a previous career), made it hard to put the book down!
I devoured the whole book in a matter weeks and am obviously still thinking about it because I’m writing this review. The research is spot-on but never feels heavy-handed. It's just a great story with characters that feel like real people.
If you're into historical fiction with heart, grab this one. Laura signed my copy—of not only The Nightingale, but some of her previous works as well—with such a thoughtful note, making it a keeper.
So glad I braved the chilly evening to be there for the launch of what's definitely one of my favorite reads this year!
Laura Elvery's: The Nightingale is an ambitious literary working.
I grabbed my copy at her Avid Reader launch, at South’s Leagues Club, and I'm so glad I did.
I was hooked from the moment Laura started reading that first chapter.
Eleanor is such a fantastic character, with her quiet strength while caring for wounded soldiers just broke my heart. And the way she thinks about her brother during those intense medical scenes? I definitely hit me in the feels.
Being a Brisbane local, I loved recognising the Queensland settings throughout the story. That chapter at Victoria Barracks (where I used to work in a previous career), made it hard to put the book down!
I devoured the whole book in a matter weeks and am obviously still thinking about it because I’m writing this review. The research is spot-on but never feels heavy-handed. It's just a great story with characters that feel like real people.
If you're into historical fiction with heart, grab this one. Laura signed my copy—of not only The Nightingale, but some of her previous works as well—with such a thoughtful note, making it a keeper.
So glad I braved the chilly evening to be there for the launch of what's definitely one of my favorite reads this year!
September 29, 2025
3.5 Stars
I don’t know a lot about Florence Nightingale, so I wasn’t always sure what was historical fact and what was imagine, but it didn’t matter. I enjoyed the story regardless. This book is part historical, part ghost story, part romance, and altogether rather captivating.
At the beginning we meet Florence in her 90s, living reclusively with the help of a carer. Her life is quiet and uneventful until she receives a surprising visitor: Silas, a war veteran she once knew during the Crimean War. Strangely, he appears unchanged—still in his 20s. Silas has tracked Florence down seeking answers about Jean.
The novel is told across three perspectives, weaving together glimpses of childhood, the war, and life after. The wartime sections in particular convey the brutality of battle and the desperate lack of medical supplies and knowledge compared to today.
I can’t say much more without spoiling the plot. What I will say is that I didn’t come away knowing much more about Florence Nightingale herself, nor did the book inspire me to research her further—it didn’t quite deliver the “historical fiction” feel I expected. That said, I did enjoy the story. I liked the interplay between the three characters and the way their lives were entwined.
Happy Reading 💗📚💗
I don’t know a lot about Florence Nightingale, so I wasn’t always sure what was historical fact and what was imagine, but it didn’t matter. I enjoyed the story regardless. This book is part historical, part ghost story, part romance, and altogether rather captivating.
At the beginning we meet Florence in her 90s, living reclusively with the help of a carer. Her life is quiet and uneventful until she receives a surprising visitor: Silas, a war veteran she once knew during the Crimean War. Strangely, he appears unchanged—still in his 20s. Silas has tracked Florence down seeking answers about Jean.
The novel is told across three perspectives, weaving together glimpses of childhood, the war, and life after. The wartime sections in particular convey the brutality of battle and the desperate lack of medical supplies and knowledge compared to today.
I can’t say much more without spoiling the plot. What I will say is that I didn’t come away knowing much more about Florence Nightingale herself, nor did the book inspire me to research her further—it didn’t quite deliver the “historical fiction” feel I expected. That said, I did enjoy the story. I liked the interplay between the three characters and the way their lives were entwined.
Happy Reading 💗📚💗
October 10, 2025
Not for the faint-hearted reader who would like a nice cosy biography. This is new-age writing which may seem a bit all over the place, a bit supernatural (Silas chapter is riveting) and it hits hard in the right ways. It shows and tells things polite people did not discuss (leave alone write about) when dear Florence Nightingale was Head Nurse. Author Laura Elvery depicts her in a warm light, very human (until she's not) and the reader floats in and out of her experiences. My favourite quote is "The Crimea. Well." His attention on Miss N. "Let me tell you what it's like." Miss N motioned around the restaurant. "On account of the other diners today? Or because of my young nurses? Because they will find out soon enough." And they certainly found out. This intriguing tale can be called gruesome or glorious seeing the nurses, doctors and soldiers of the Crimean war perform their loyal duties. It is beyond comprehension that soldiers survived gunfire, disease and medical intervention, but Florence stood firm throughout, as did those young nurses the story also follows. Florence Nightingale was an amazing woman but quite rigid in many ways and I did wonder what she would think of this extraordinary look at her life.
July 23, 2025
In1910, Florence Nightingale is elderly, frail and close to death. She doesn't leave her room and had a live in helper and housekeeper. Unexpectedly, she receives a visit from a young man backed Silas Bradley who tells her they met during the Crimean War over 50 years ago. However, he seems as young today as he was then - his is this possible? He claims they both knew Laua Every during the war.
This is a work of historical fiction, weaving an unusual story with recollections of the past, reflecting the limitations and terrible conditions experienced by women during wartime and their powerlessness at that time in history. Medical care was basic and often consisted of supportive, comfort care until the end rather than anything which helped to save or extend someone's life. The writing is dreamlike and has an ethereal and while quite beautiful, does make the story a little difficult to follow at times. From a historical perspective, it portrays the brutality of war and the suffering for soldiers and those that cared for them.
I have a fascination for books which blend history and fiction as quite enjoyed this read with its unusual path.
June 27, 2025
WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS BOOK.
I read two reviews that described this book as 1) discombobulated and 2) said they didn’t get it, and that’s exactly how I felt. At times, it felt like an anthology, and the plot was quite convoluted. After finishing it, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to fully deconstruct it or enjoy it. The one thing I did enjoy—not connected to the book in any way—was more just my own reaction. It was when an unnamed side character described Florence as “odd” from that I was like , “Gurll, this whole book is odd.” The storyline just felt skewed and completely different from what I expected. So, that’s my little rant.
1.5
I read two reviews that described this book as 1) discombobulated and 2) said they didn’t get it, and that’s exactly how I felt. At times, it felt like an anthology, and the plot was quite convoluted. After finishing it, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to fully deconstruct it or enjoy it. The one thing I did enjoy—not connected to the book in any way—was more just my own reaction. It was when an unnamed side character described Florence as “odd” from that I was like , “Gurll, this whole book is odd.” The storyline just felt skewed and completely different from what I expected. So, that’s my little rant.
1.5
June 13, 2025
Given it 4 because I do think as a debut novel it is good. I think the main issue I had with it was that it strove to be too many things. It wasn’t really literary fiction or historical fiction or poetry but some (I agree with the comments) discombobulating and bewildering and hazy story about Florence Nightingale. I don’t know anything about her and I’m not sure I entirely do know anything after the story end. I also don’t totally understand the role of Silas … was he a ghost or not? Did he actually die? What was the point in having be quite a fleshy ghost?
June 13, 2025
Really interesting novel about the great Florence Nightingale, who revolutionized nursing care during the Crimean War. This novel is about a young nurse under her tutelage, Jean, and a young soldier: Silas. Time moves back and forth from Nightingale's death bed in 1910, back to the terrible scenes of carnage of the Crimean War in the 1800s. There is an unexpected supernatural element to this story. The writing is well done, and the plot is easy to follow, as the narrative not only just jumps time periods, but narrators.
August 4, 2025
A bit unsure of this book. I enjoyed the writing but each time I put it down, I wasn't sure where the book was taking me. I was still a bit confused at the end. I had reason to learn a bit about Florence Nightingale recently, so was pleased to see the historical elements incorporated into the story. The musings of the frail, elderly Nightingale are the vehicle for plot. I didn't find the never-ending love between two of the other characters that convincing, so their stories (very odd in some regards) didn't add to the historical fiction that I think this book was trying to be.
Read
August 28, 2025An enjoyable quick read that provided a fictionalised version of Florence Nightingale and her efforts to improve nursing standards. Especially focussed on her travelling to the Crimean war with young girls to treat soldiers injured. The hospital scenes were pretty graphic and harsh conditions were dreadful. Not for the faint hearted.
Lost me towards the end skipping between the bedridden Florence dying in her old age, a wounded soldier and one of the nurses who had found work as a doctor?
More sketches of their later lives like ran out of words or edited to be shorter?
Lost me towards the end skipping between the bedridden Florence dying in her old age, a wounded soldier and one of the nurses who had found work as a doctor?
More sketches of their later lives like ran out of words or edited to be shorter?
July 31, 2025
This was a very interesting book. Florence Nightingale is 90 and receives a visit from Silas Bradley, a soldier from the Crimean War over 50 years earlier. And there’s Jean, an enigmatic nurse, who is connected by the two. Part historical fiction and part ghost story, this was a very different, yet captivating short novel. The narrators were excellent and made this story come alive.
Thank you to libro.fm for the complementary audiobook
Thank you to libro.fm for the complementary audiobook
September 19, 2025
The novel begins with Florence Nightingale, it's named for her, but the real protagonist here is Jean, one of Miss N's nurses. Her story - of defiance, love, longing for something beyond what is possible in her world - holds the novel together. Each chapter is told from a different character's perspective and at times, I found Florence's chapters a little boring; I was itching to get back to Jean. This is a beautifully written novel and I'm excited to see what Laura Elvery does next.
July 2, 2025
Nah not for me. An interesting premise but so drawn out even for a short book. The novelty of finding more macabre ways of describing trauma and violence just seems naff now. Let’s get back to insightful observations and characterisation and language and beautiful writing. Gad I’m sounding old. I feel like reading 19thC novels again.
July 20, 2025
Was a very easy read but I feel like I completely missed something because I really did not understand the ending.
I expected a bit more meat to the story but nothing really happened and I’m not really sure if there was a big reveal because as I said I didn’t get it.
I expected a bit more meat to the story but nothing really happened and I’m not really sure if there was a big reveal because as I said I didn’t get it.
September 16, 2025
In 1910 Florence Nightingale is living quietly in London aged 90. Silas Bradley visits her having met her in Crimea 55 years ago but appears too young. This is an unusual and strange tale involving nurse Jean as well.
It kept my interest and was an engaging debut novel. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.
It kept my interest and was an engaging debut novel. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.
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