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The Black Museum: The Ghost and the Lady #1
The Black Museum: The Ghost and the Lady, Book 1
DARKEST NIGHTINGALE
Deep in London’s Scotland Yard sits an evidence room dedicated to the greatest mysteries of British history. In this “Black Museum” sits a misshapen hunk of lead—two bullets fused together—the key to the untold story of a wartime encounter between Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing, and a supernatural Man in Grey. The record books show Florence fought for compassion as empires’ petty rivalries threatened to destroy the hopes and lives of common people. But a guest in the Black Museum knows the truth is not so simple, and the famed Lady with the Lamp had a ghastly secret…
Deep in London’s Scotland Yard sits an evidence room dedicated to the greatest mysteries of British history. In this “Black Museum” sits a misshapen hunk of lead—two bullets fused together—the key to the untold story of a wartime encounter between Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing, and a supernatural Man in Grey. The record books show Florence fought for compassion as empires’ petty rivalries threatened to destroy the hopes and lives of common people. But a guest in the Black Museum knows the truth is not so simple, and the famed Lady with the Lamp had a ghastly secret…
304 pages, Hardcover
First published July 23, 2015
6 people are currently reading
302 people want to read
About the author
Kazuhiro Fujita
303 books17 followersKazuhiro Fujita (藤田 和日郎 Fujita Kazuhirō, born 24 May 1964 in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Nihon University. He made his professional manga debut in Shōnen Sunday in 1989. He is most famous for the manga Ushio and Tora, for which he won Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 1992 and the Seiun Award in 1997, and the long-running Karakuri Circus.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
January 4, 2021
4/5 stars
October 16, 2016
A museum in which artefacts of crimes most heinous are held, a maniac who disappeared as suddenly as he materialized and who put the fear into victorian London almost to the extent of the latter day Jack the Ripper.
I've previously read Mark Hodder's amazing The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack which I'm prepared to admit might have colored my impression of The Ghost and The Lady slightly. In the aforementioned story, Spring Heeled Jack's sudden appearance and disappearance is given a thrilling background and this is possibly a part of why I didn't enjoy this story as much. In the manga, the origin of Spring Heeled Jack is not at all supernatural but starts as a childish prank of rich youngsters (which still is one of the main theories behind the legend) and escalates into murder by the too-early-on revealed villain for rather inane reasons.
I like the art. I'm a bit torn about the characters as I didn't really care for Inspector Rockenfield (but maybe that'll change?) though I did fall for the Marquess. I didn't much care for the "in-between" stories where Inspector Rockenfield told the proprietor of the museum how the leg of Spring Heeled Jack ended up there. The actual story of Jack was interesting, but it felt sort of "halted" by those unnecessary breaks.
I'm not sure if the series will be about the Black Museum in itself or if Spring Heeled Jack will be the focal point of it and because of that I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it (will/would it be more interesting if it was about different crimes each volume?).
For me, this volume, and the series this far, gets a pretty solid 3 stars.
I've previously read Mark Hodder's amazing The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack which I'm prepared to admit might have colored my impression of The Ghost and The Lady slightly. In the aforementioned story, Spring Heeled Jack's sudden appearance and disappearance is given a thrilling background and this is possibly a part of why I didn't enjoy this story as much. In the manga, the origin of Spring Heeled Jack is not at all supernatural but starts as a childish prank of rich youngsters (which still is one of the main theories behind the legend) and escalates into murder by the too-early-on revealed villain for rather inane reasons.
I like the art. I'm a bit torn about the characters as I didn't really care for Inspector Rockenfield (but maybe that'll change?) though I did fall for the Marquess. I didn't much care for the "in-between" stories where Inspector Rockenfield told the proprietor of the museum how the leg of Spring Heeled Jack ended up there. The actual story of Jack was interesting, but it felt sort of "halted" by those unnecessary breaks.
I'm not sure if the series will be about the Black Museum in itself or if Spring Heeled Jack will be the focal point of it and because of that I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it (will/would it be more interesting if it was about different crimes each volume?).
For me, this volume, and the series this far, gets a pretty solid 3 stars.
November 17, 2016
Who would have thought of pairing Florence Nightingale with a theatre-loving ghost? And a naked Nightingale, at that?! I'm intrigued by the Black Museum series, and I may go on to read subsequent volumes.
November 19, 2017
While the concept of the Black Museum is intriguing and the ghost himself is fun, I find the idea that Florence Nightingale would have been unable to accomplish all that she did without the help of a male ghost very off-putting. And constantly showing her spirit naked?! Why?!
November 15, 2016
Great story, but loses two stars for the ridiculous and unnecessary nude scenes.
February 28, 2018
My husband recommended I read The Ghost and the Lady Volume 1, not because he knew anything about the story or that it was created by the same mangaka that created Ushio and Tora, but because he saw the fabulously dressed man with a fabulous hat on the cover. And boy do I like fabulously dressed men with fabulous hats. Hey, he knows me well. As it turned out, this was a fantastic move as it has nearly everything I love in it - fabulously dressed people, a healthy dose of fantasy, awesome fights, some brilliant artwork, and (my favorite) history.
The story follows the Man in Grey, a ghost who occupies the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. There he meets Florence Nightingale, with whom he stays beside through her journey into nursing and war torn battlefields. All of this is told in retrospect with the Man in Grey explaining the story of a strange object – two bullets fused together – kept in the Black Museum, an evidence room deep below Scotland Yard.
I read this entire manga in one sitting. Granted, that isn’t necessarily difficult to do with manga, even those that are over 400 pages long. But it still shows home much I enjoyed this manga.
The Man in Grey is an intriguing character. Already a very old ghost by the time he meets Florence Nightingale in the early 1800s, his past is a mystery, even to himself. What he does know is the spiritual world, the world of ghosts and shadows and creeping things. A world that Florence Nightingale can inexplicably see.
The world spun in this manga is one steeped in the otherworldly. There are ghosts, of course, and plenty of other monstrous looking spirits called eidolons. Humans, or most of them, anyway, cannot see eidolons, which are spirits attached to every human that feed off of negativity and can grow to monstrous size and form.
The story follows the real life tale of Florence Nightingale, only with supernatural elements playing into the account. Notes are included in margins on the characters, their lives, or the events of the time, though only sporadically. The book is very serious on getting Florence Nightingale, those around her, and their stories correct. There’s even a work’s cited section at the end of the manga, something that, coming from a family of historians, made me appreciate this manga even more.
The action takes place in two places here – human against human and spirit against spirit, or ghost against eidolon. The Man in Grey, though initially tasked with ending Florence’s life, winds up fighting for her instead. At first, this is quite frequent. The Man in Grey is her veritable knight in shining armor, fighting in her stead in the world of ghosts and spirits when she cannot do so, whether by her own limitations or something else, in the real world. As the story progresses, this occurs less and less with the Man in Grey becoming more of an observer than an active participant in Florence’s fight for nursing and her own future. There is real character development here, slow and gradual but never missing.
As for the art, I quite liked it for the most part. It has an older feel, the sort of pencil-like drawings which were more prolific when I was a child as opposed to the very clean, perfect lines of today. Shading is done with hatch marks. Lines burst from the page, showing motion and anger as eidolons and ghosts fight.
The fight scenes in particular are worth mentioning. There are some gorgeous depictions of The Man in Grey bursting from the frame of his cell as he fights against eidolons. The detail in these cells is at once very detailed and a bit messy – very precise in the details of the beings forms or dress with a great deal of shading, but messy in composition, with bodies twirling about one another, dissipating and reappearing, as only the formless can do. Cells showing fights in the spirit world are full of life. Conversely, scenes showing battlefields or battles between humans are extremely static. Almost no movement fills those cells. Characters are very static, either crumpled in pain and riddled with wounds or else marching solemnly through the frame, taking no notice that they are watched either by other characters or the viewer.
There are some sections where we see Florence with less than the appropriate amount of clothing. However, I don’t think this is done purely for fan service. As other characters berate, dismiss, and cut Florence down verbally her clothes are slashed by invisible weapons and explode in much the same way any shonen protagonist’s shirt will explode at the start of battle. This is deliberately done, a physical representation of the hurt words can have, the damage they can do, just how dejected and depressed than can make a person, and the determination they can unwittingly fill a person with as well.
The Ghost and the Lady Volume 1 by Kazuhiro Fujita is a manga that took me by surprise. I was never overly familiar with Florence Nightingale’s story, and so was more taken by the man on the front cover in the dapper jacket and cool hat. Now, I’m staying for Florence, for the fierce spirit that shines, even when she’s afraid and to watch the ever certain Man in Grey as he faces demons of his own. The second and last volume of this series is already sitting on my desk, and will be read soon enough. Because I can’t stay away from this. It’s just too wonderful.
This review and more can be found on Looking Glass Reads.
The story follows the Man in Grey, a ghost who occupies the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. There he meets Florence Nightingale, with whom he stays beside through her journey into nursing and war torn battlefields. All of this is told in retrospect with the Man in Grey explaining the story of a strange object – two bullets fused together – kept in the Black Museum, an evidence room deep below Scotland Yard.
I read this entire manga in one sitting. Granted, that isn’t necessarily difficult to do with manga, even those that are over 400 pages long. But it still shows home much I enjoyed this manga.
The Man in Grey is an intriguing character. Already a very old ghost by the time he meets Florence Nightingale in the early 1800s, his past is a mystery, even to himself. What he does know is the spiritual world, the world of ghosts and shadows and creeping things. A world that Florence Nightingale can inexplicably see.
The world spun in this manga is one steeped in the otherworldly. There are ghosts, of course, and plenty of other monstrous looking spirits called eidolons. Humans, or most of them, anyway, cannot see eidolons, which are spirits attached to every human that feed off of negativity and can grow to monstrous size and form.
The story follows the real life tale of Florence Nightingale, only with supernatural elements playing into the account. Notes are included in margins on the characters, their lives, or the events of the time, though only sporadically. The book is very serious on getting Florence Nightingale, those around her, and their stories correct. There’s even a work’s cited section at the end of the manga, something that, coming from a family of historians, made me appreciate this manga even more.
The action takes place in two places here – human against human and spirit against spirit, or ghost against eidolon. The Man in Grey, though initially tasked with ending Florence’s life, winds up fighting for her instead. At first, this is quite frequent. The Man in Grey is her veritable knight in shining armor, fighting in her stead in the world of ghosts and spirits when she cannot do so, whether by her own limitations or something else, in the real world. As the story progresses, this occurs less and less with the Man in Grey becoming more of an observer than an active participant in Florence’s fight for nursing and her own future. There is real character development here, slow and gradual but never missing.
As for the art, I quite liked it for the most part. It has an older feel, the sort of pencil-like drawings which were more prolific when I was a child as opposed to the very clean, perfect lines of today. Shading is done with hatch marks. Lines burst from the page, showing motion and anger as eidolons and ghosts fight.
The fight scenes in particular are worth mentioning. There are some gorgeous depictions of The Man in Grey bursting from the frame of his cell as he fights against eidolons. The detail in these cells is at once very detailed and a bit messy – very precise in the details of the beings forms or dress with a great deal of shading, but messy in composition, with bodies twirling about one another, dissipating and reappearing, as only the formless can do. Cells showing fights in the spirit world are full of life. Conversely, scenes showing battlefields or battles between humans are extremely static. Almost no movement fills those cells. Characters are very static, either crumpled in pain and riddled with wounds or else marching solemnly through the frame, taking no notice that they are watched either by other characters or the viewer.
There are some sections where we see Florence with less than the appropriate amount of clothing. However, I don’t think this is done purely for fan service. As other characters berate, dismiss, and cut Florence down verbally her clothes are slashed by invisible weapons and explode in much the same way any shonen protagonist’s shirt will explode at the start of battle. This is deliberately done, a physical representation of the hurt words can have, the damage they can do, just how dejected and depressed than can make a person, and the determination they can unwittingly fill a person with as well.
The Ghost and the Lady Volume 1 by Kazuhiro Fujita is a manga that took me by surprise. I was never overly familiar with Florence Nightingale’s story, and so was more taken by the man on the front cover in the dapper jacket and cool hat. Now, I’m staying for Florence, for the fierce spirit that shines, even when she’s afraid and to watch the ever certain Man in Grey as he faces demons of his own. The second and last volume of this series is already sitting on my desk, and will be read soon enough. Because I can’t stay away from this. It’s just too wonderful.
This review and more can be found on Looking Glass Reads.
November 9, 2024
Un gros volume, bien dense, qui mélange faits historiques et surnaturel. J'ai bien aimé les personnages principaux, même s'ils sont assez froids, et la découverte de l'histoire, entre fantômes, duels et contexte médical à l'ancienne.
August 17, 2019
NEWTs 2019: E in Charms
November 28, 2019
Interesting way to tell a story and blend two stories together. Entertaining with action and some heart.
August 27, 2025
While original in design and imaginative in plot, I ultimately think that I’m just the wrong audience for this series. Perhaps I don’t know enough about Manga, but why the plethora of gratuitous female nudity? Why the oversimplification of numerous characters? If the illustrations can be so detailed, why not make the same effort for the story? Just a snobbish complaint, but I think I’ll pass on the rest of the series.
February 12, 2017
I struggled with what to rate this as parts of it are very different and interesting and parts were annoying as heck. I found this on a best manga of 2016 list and I didn't think the art was nearly as good as the reviewer did. It's very detailed but I was disturbed by Grey's oft-Gumby like appearance (yes, yes I know he's a ghost).
It opens with the Madame Curator of the Black Museum (sort of the X-Files museum of Scotland Yard in at the turn of the 20th century) and she meets the infamous Grey Ghost of Drury Lane. Grey has haunted the royal theater there for years, the spirit of a professional duelist.
He tells her the story of how he went from enjoying theater to being the potential killer in his own drama when a young woman asks him to kill her. He finds her too intriguing to kill directly but promises to kill her once she 'falls into complete despair.' (and that's one of the annoying parts, he's usually sensible then suddenly goes over the top when he wants her to despair. I hate that over the top cliche).
The young lady turns out be the wealthy Florence Nightingale, yes that Florence, the lady of the Lamp. If you've never read her story, it's one worth reading. The author has done a fair amount of historical research, I'll give it that. One of the reasons Florence is despairing is she can see these monstrous ghosts attached to people, eidolons. Grey explains that every human has them and they bring out/feed on bad emotions and bad behaviors. They cause many of our conflicts.
Florence has a huge conflict with her parents. She is a wealthy Victorian girl meant for marriage and improving the family name. She believes God has spoken to her, to find her calling and she believes that is helping the sick and injured. She even attended a school for nursing on the continent but in England and in many other places, nurses at this time were literally camp followers and whores, good for mostly just cleaning up the squalid hospitals and feeding/bathing patients. In the real world Florence transformed nursing into what it has become today at high cost to her.
In the manga, we follow Florence and Grey as she takes her first faltering steps into making nursing a respectable and useful career. Grey is there both protecting her from others (so he can kill her later) and bearing witness to her deeds as she saves a horrible hospital from itself and later following her to the Crimean war.
However, as Florence can see the eidolons, she is particularly vulnerable to them and they are constantly shredding her. And this is literally the most annoying part of the entire volume. Every time she's confronted and begins to falter a little, her vulnerability is shown by drawing her naked and tearing her nude body apart. It seems exploitive rather than a good metaphor. And it happens A lot.
As I said above, the author has obviously done a ton of research historically (several footnotes throughout, though how much of that was in the original and how much is from the English translation team I'm not sure). Kudos for weaving D'Eon du Beaumont into the story (though her breasts are a bit much especially when I already knew D'Eon's secret).
I would like to see more. Oh and this manga is one of the hard cover double (or maybe even triple) volumes.
It opens with the Madame Curator of the Black Museum (sort of the X-Files museum of Scotland Yard in at the turn of the 20th century) and she meets the infamous Grey Ghost of Drury Lane. Grey has haunted the royal theater there for years, the spirit of a professional duelist.
He tells her the story of how he went from enjoying theater to being the potential killer in his own drama when a young woman asks him to kill her. He finds her too intriguing to kill directly but promises to kill her once she 'falls into complete despair.' (and that's one of the annoying parts, he's usually sensible then suddenly goes over the top when he wants her to despair. I hate that over the top cliche).
The young lady turns out be the wealthy Florence Nightingale, yes that Florence, the lady of the Lamp. If you've never read her story, it's one worth reading. The author has done a fair amount of historical research, I'll give it that. One of the reasons Florence is despairing is she can see these monstrous ghosts attached to people, eidolons. Grey explains that every human has them and they bring out/feed on bad emotions and bad behaviors. They cause many of our conflicts.
Florence has a huge conflict with her parents. She is a wealthy Victorian girl meant for marriage and improving the family name. She believes God has spoken to her, to find her calling and she believes that is helping the sick and injured. She even attended a school for nursing on the continent but in England and in many other places, nurses at this time were literally camp followers and whores, good for mostly just cleaning up the squalid hospitals and feeding/bathing patients. In the real world Florence transformed nursing into what it has become today at high cost to her.
In the manga, we follow Florence and Grey as she takes her first faltering steps into making nursing a respectable and useful career. Grey is there both protecting her from others (so he can kill her later) and bearing witness to her deeds as she saves a horrible hospital from itself and later following her to the Crimean war.
However, as Florence can see the eidolons, she is particularly vulnerable to them and they are constantly shredding her. And this is literally the most annoying part of the entire volume. Every time she's confronted and begins to falter a little, her vulnerability is shown by drawing her naked and tearing her nude body apart. It seems exploitive rather than a good metaphor. And it happens A lot.
As I said above, the author has obviously done a ton of research historically (several footnotes throughout, though how much of that was in the original and how much is from the English translation team I'm not sure). Kudos for weaving D'Eon du Beaumont into the story (though her breasts are a bit much especially when I already knew D'Eon's secret).
I would like to see more. Oh and this manga is one of the hard cover double (or maybe even triple) volumes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2018
This was so bizarre but also so good!?
Written in a frame narrative, The Ghost and the Lady follows a ghost, The Man in Grey, telling the story of his afterlife to a young lady working in a small British museum. More specifically, he tells his tale of following Florence Nightingale (yes, THAT Florence Nightingale), a timid young woman who's asked the ghost to take her soul once she's lost all hope. Amused by Nightingale, the ghost eagerly follows her around anticipating the moment she succumbs to despair so that he can kill her.
It's a really weird setup, but this is so different from anything I've ever read (manga or otherwise) but Fujita makes this work. The ghost character is morally gray, so he's not exactly sympathetic, but he's so lively and funny making him a perfect foil for Nightingale. The two are such a charming pair!
Fujita has also created an interesting fantasy/supernatural world where every person has a demon/monster being attached to their soul. For some reason, Nightingale can see these beings and hers is incredibly large and overbearing. The ghost, being of their world, can see and interact with them, so he's tasked himself with protecting Nightingale (because HE wants to be the one to kill her, goddamnit).
I still can't get over what a weird mishmash this is, but everything is still cohesive. This is all accentuated by Fujita's art which captures the gothic feeling of the era while still maintaining a manga aesthetic.
A title very worth checking out. I can't seem to find out if there are any more volumes after the 2nd one, but I really hope there are! I'm eager to read more of this series.
Written in a frame narrative, The Ghost and the Lady follows a ghost, The Man in Grey, telling the story of his afterlife to a young lady working in a small British museum. More specifically, he tells his tale of following Florence Nightingale (yes, THAT Florence Nightingale), a timid young woman who's asked the ghost to take her soul once she's lost all hope. Amused by Nightingale, the ghost eagerly follows her around anticipating the moment she succumbs to despair so that he can kill her.
It's a really weird setup, but this is so different from anything I've ever read (manga or otherwise) but Fujita makes this work. The ghost character is morally gray, so he's not exactly sympathetic, but he's so lively and funny making him a perfect foil for Nightingale. The two are such a charming pair!
Fujita has also created an interesting fantasy/supernatural world where every person has a demon/monster being attached to their soul. For some reason, Nightingale can see these beings and hers is incredibly large and overbearing. The ghost, being of their world, can see and interact with them, so he's tasked himself with protecting Nightingale (because HE wants to be the one to kill her, goddamnit).
I still can't get over what a weird mishmash this is, but everything is still cohesive. This is all accentuated by Fujita's art which captures the gothic feeling of the era while still maintaining a manga aesthetic.
A title very worth checking out. I can't seem to find out if there are any more volumes after the 2nd one, but I really hope there are! I'm eager to read more of this series.
February 6, 2017
Porque... Japão, e a sua deliciosa cultura esquisita. A premissa deste mangá assenta num museu de objectos curiosos e a sua curadora, visitada por um fantasma. Estão lançadas as bases para uma série de antologia entre fantasia e horror onde cada episódio se foca na história de um objecto específico, pensa-se. Algo demasiado directo para a cultura japonesa. Em vez de seguir este óbvio caminho, o fantasma que visita a senhora do museu prefere contar uma longa história, sobre a mulher que um dia lhe pediu para a assassinar. Este não é um fantasma qualquer. Antigo duelista profissional, assombra um teatro londrino, e é contactado por uma jovem desesperada que quer pôr termo à vida sem se suicidar. Ela tem a rara qualidade de ver os espíritos, e de sentir os espíritos malévolos que dominam cada ser humano, nesta série apelidados de eidolons. Com um sentido teatral assinalável, o fantasma decide matá-la apenas quando a rapariga estiver no seu desespero máximo, protegendo-a contra ameaças enquanto a acompanha, esperando que as suas lutas e decisões a levem ao desespero.
A rapariga não é uma menina qualquer. É uma jovem que se quer dedicar a causas, fugindo ao destino de mulher da alta sociedade. Irá sempre lutar contra os pais e a sociedade que a rodeia para levar a cabo o que acredita ser a sua missão, cuidar dos doentes. Também não é uma enfermeira qualquer. É Florence Nightingale. Se vos parecer estranho ver a pioneira dos modernos cuidados de enfermagem e a história da sua vida transformada em heroína de mangá em mistura de romance e fantasia, só podem culpar as idiosincrasias da cultura popular japonesa.
A rapariga não é uma menina qualquer. É uma jovem que se quer dedicar a causas, fugindo ao destino de mulher da alta sociedade. Irá sempre lutar contra os pais e a sociedade que a rodeia para levar a cabo o que acredita ser a sua missão, cuidar dos doentes. Também não é uma enfermeira qualquer. É Florence Nightingale. Se vos parecer estranho ver a pioneira dos modernos cuidados de enfermagem e a história da sua vida transformada em heroína de mangá em mistura de romance e fantasia, só podem culpar as idiosincrasias da cultura popular japonesa.
October 24, 2017
This is a strange book, even for a manga. I was intrigued by the concept of a ghost story coupled with the history of Florence Nightingale, but the book unfortunately did not live up to its promise. The pacing of the story is frustratingly slow and highly repetitive. The characters are oddly unlikable because both the ghost and Florence have many qualities that should make them sympathetic and relatable. But they mostly come off as annoying, even when they are performing heroic or noble acts. The artwork and the story are way over the top, making the story extremely cartoonish. And then there is the extraordinarily bizarre use of nudity that is so gratuitous it made me both perplexed and angry. Let me be clear - I don't object to nudity if it serves the story. This doesn't. In fact, it appears at the most random and meaningless points in the story, and of course, is always female nudity. The incongruity of a naked, sexy Florence Nightingale renders this book nothing more than a bad joke. There are plenty of excellent, well-written and beautifully drawn graphic novels/manga out there - don't waste your time on this one.
August 8, 2017
This two volume series has easily become one of my favorites. I love mangas that take inspiration from history and this one was no exception. The story of Flo and Grey was so interesting and emotional. You really felt drawn to rooting for them both and it surprised me as the story went on how much they both came to need one another. It was not the tale I was expecting but it was the one I realize now I wanted. At the very end I knew these characters earned a little place in my heart and so did their story.
November 8, 2019
The tale is interesting. A ghost haunting Florence Nightingale is just an intriguing premise.
I'm not one for gore, which this book does portray. But I think the cruel reality of war depicted through the artwork is powerful in this medium and was done well.
As an avid history buff, I think the costumes, the chronology, and the depiction of the Victorian era are spot on.
I liked the transitions between the past and the present within the Manga. I look forward to reading the next one.
I'm not one for gore, which this book does portray. But I think the cruel reality of war depicted through the artwork is powerful in this medium and was done well.
As an avid history buff, I think the costumes, the chronology, and the depiction of the Victorian era are spot on.
I liked the transitions between the past and the present within the Manga. I look forward to reading the next one.
November 9, 2016
How about a Manga telling Florence Nightingale's story with a ghost story mixed in for good measure? Actually made for an amazing read. It's not for children due to graphic violence...it does feature the Crimean War, go figure...and strangely some female nudity.
March 26, 2024
Après Crescent Moon, Dance with the Monster, je poursuis ma découverte des titres du « Black Muséum » de Kazuhiro Fujita, des textes surprenants revisitant des épisodes et figures de l’Histoire anglaise à la sauce fantastique comme il sait bien le faire.
Après Crescent qui s’annonce comme une série en 6 tomes, je remonte dans le passé avec Ghost & Lady, saga en 2 tomes, parus 7 ans plus tôt en 2015 au Japon et qui cette fois prend pour héroïne une autre figure féminine après Mary Shelley : Florence Nightingale, une célèbre infirmière du XIXe, pionnière en son domaine pour modernisé sa vocation.
J’avais aimé la façon dont l’auteur avait insufflé sa folie fantastique dans le récit revisité de Mary Shelley et son rapport à son art, son chef d’oeuvre. J’aime la façon dont il fait de même, mais sur une autre proposition, une autre variation, avec Florence Nightingale. Nous retrouvons, narrativement, les mêmes marqueurs : une histoire dans l’histoire avec une conservatrice témoin, une narration très bavarde, parfois un peu trop, une bascule fantastique qui colle des frissons et frôle l’horreur. Je suis assez friande de cela.
J’ai ainsi pris beaucoup de plaisir à replonger dans cette histoire, avec cette fois, non pas l’héroïne comme narratrice mais celui qui la hante, son fantôme protecteur en quelque sorte. Cela m’a rappelé Soul Keeper de Tsutomu Takahashi, avec sa figure d’ange de la mort qui planait au-dessus de son héros, mais ici notre fantôme n’attend qu’une chose : pouvoir liquider lui-même Florence. Or celle-ci, malgré des pensées suicidaires, a quand même un caractère à tout épreuve qui va lui faire surmonter bien des événements personnels et historiques.
Fujita propose ainsi une histoire à la croisée des genres. On y croise une dimension fantastique avec cette héroïne capable de voir les « démons » qui hantent l’aura des gens et symbolisent leurs vices et leurs souffrances. Il y a aussi une dimension féministe avec cette jeune femme qui se bat pour son rêve : devenir infirmière, aider les gens, sortir de sa condition sociale de fille d’aristocrate pour faire quelque chose de sa vie, et moderniser son art. Enfin, cela s’inscrit dans l’Histoire de l’Angleterre, puisqu’on y parle de l’état de la médecine, de la pauvreté et de l’insalubrité galopantes, des guerres également de l’Empire avec celle de Crimée. C’est un portrait assez fidèle et complet de la vie de ce personnage historique qui se mélange bien avec l’aura fantastique ajoutée.
Pour autant, j’ai quelques réserves. Je trouve en effet la narration trop bavarde et il m’est souvent arrivée d’avoir envie de sauter des bulles et autre encarts de narration. J’ai aussi du mal avec le côté braillard et grandiloquent des personnages, ils sont souvent très/trop caricaturaux et l’auteur force également le trait quand il prétend vouloir apporter de la nuance. Cela peut donner un côté ridicule à ce qui se joue alors que c’est essentiel et fondateur dans l’exercice de la médecine, notamment d’urgence. Je ne sais pas non plus dans quel degré cela peut plaire à quelqu’un ne connaissant pas ou ne souhaitant pas découvrir l’histoire de Florence, car c’est quand même un focus assez particulier.
Côté marqueurs de l’auteur, on prend plaisir à retrouver sa folle imagination dans les éléments fantastiques, avec ces fantômes / démons et leurs représentations, allant parfois jusqu’à reprendre des personnages connus comme le Chevalier d’Eon. On aime aussi retrouver sa science de la mise en scène des combats qui sont toujours originaux et graphiques. Ils jouent bien en plus cette fois avec les codes de l’horreur avec ces démons/âmes rappelant un peu les yokai japonais et leurs interprétations aussi bien traditionnelles que modernes. C’est vraiment une chouette expérience graphique, surtout que le décor victorien est également bien dépeint avec des tableaux de la pauvreté systémiques saisissants et une mention de Drury Lane jouissif pour les amateurs.
Proposant à nouveau une aventure des plus singulières, cette plongée dans l’histoire de Florence Nightingale, la propagatrice d’une idée de soins d’urgence modernes, fut riche et passionnante mais peut-être un peu enfermante pour qui ne s’y intéresse pas. J’ai beaucoup aimé le mélange fantastique, Histoire et féminisme. J’ai été saisie par l’expérience visuelle et l’ambiance gothico-fantastique collant des frissons parfois. Mais l’auteur est une fois de plus très bavard et son récit est si particulier que je ne sais pas s’il peut toucher le plus grand nombre.
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Après Crescent qui s’annonce comme une série en 6 tomes, je remonte dans le passé avec Ghost & Lady, saga en 2 tomes, parus 7 ans plus tôt en 2015 au Japon et qui cette fois prend pour héroïne une autre figure féminine après Mary Shelley : Florence Nightingale, une célèbre infirmière du XIXe, pionnière en son domaine pour modernisé sa vocation.
J’avais aimé la façon dont l’auteur avait insufflé sa folie fantastique dans le récit revisité de Mary Shelley et son rapport à son art, son chef d’oeuvre. J’aime la façon dont il fait de même, mais sur une autre proposition, une autre variation, avec Florence Nightingale. Nous retrouvons, narrativement, les mêmes marqueurs : une histoire dans l’histoire avec une conservatrice témoin, une narration très bavarde, parfois un peu trop, une bascule fantastique qui colle des frissons et frôle l’horreur. Je suis assez friande de cela.
J’ai ainsi pris beaucoup de plaisir à replonger dans cette histoire, avec cette fois, non pas l’héroïne comme narratrice mais celui qui la hante, son fantôme protecteur en quelque sorte. Cela m’a rappelé Soul Keeper de Tsutomu Takahashi, avec sa figure d’ange de la mort qui planait au-dessus de son héros, mais ici notre fantôme n’attend qu’une chose : pouvoir liquider lui-même Florence. Or celle-ci, malgré des pensées suicidaires, a quand même un caractère à tout épreuve qui va lui faire surmonter bien des événements personnels et historiques.
Fujita propose ainsi une histoire à la croisée des genres. On y croise une dimension fantastique avec cette héroïne capable de voir les « démons » qui hantent l’aura des gens et symbolisent leurs vices et leurs souffrances. Il y a aussi une dimension féministe avec cette jeune femme qui se bat pour son rêve : devenir infirmière, aider les gens, sortir de sa condition sociale de fille d’aristocrate pour faire quelque chose de sa vie, et moderniser son art. Enfin, cela s’inscrit dans l’Histoire de l’Angleterre, puisqu’on y parle de l’état de la médecine, de la pauvreté et de l’insalubrité galopantes, des guerres également de l’Empire avec celle de Crimée. C’est un portrait assez fidèle et complet de la vie de ce personnage historique qui se mélange bien avec l’aura fantastique ajoutée.
Pour autant, j’ai quelques réserves. Je trouve en effet la narration trop bavarde et il m’est souvent arrivée d’avoir envie de sauter des bulles et autre encarts de narration. J’ai aussi du mal avec le côté braillard et grandiloquent des personnages, ils sont souvent très/trop caricaturaux et l’auteur force également le trait quand il prétend vouloir apporter de la nuance. Cela peut donner un côté ridicule à ce qui se joue alors que c’est essentiel et fondateur dans l’exercice de la médecine, notamment d’urgence. Je ne sais pas non plus dans quel degré cela peut plaire à quelqu’un ne connaissant pas ou ne souhaitant pas découvrir l’histoire de Florence, car c’est quand même un focus assez particulier.
Côté marqueurs de l’auteur, on prend plaisir à retrouver sa folle imagination dans les éléments fantastiques, avec ces fantômes / démons et leurs représentations, allant parfois jusqu’à reprendre des personnages connus comme le Chevalier d’Eon. On aime aussi retrouver sa science de la mise en scène des combats qui sont toujours originaux et graphiques. Ils jouent bien en plus cette fois avec les codes de l’horreur avec ces démons/âmes rappelant un peu les yokai japonais et leurs interprétations aussi bien traditionnelles que modernes. C’est vraiment une chouette expérience graphique, surtout que le décor victorien est également bien dépeint avec des tableaux de la pauvreté systémiques saisissants et une mention de Drury Lane jouissif pour les amateurs.
Proposant à nouveau une aventure des plus singulières, cette plongée dans l’histoire de Florence Nightingale, la propagatrice d’une idée de soins d’urgence modernes, fut riche et passionnante mais peut-être un peu enfermante pour qui ne s’y intéresse pas. J’ai beaucoup aimé le mélange fantastique, Histoire et féminisme. J’ai été saisie par l’expérience visuelle et l’ambiance gothico-fantastique collant des frissons parfois. Mais l’auteur est une fois de plus très bavard et son récit est si particulier que je ne sais pas s’il peut toucher le plus grand nombre.
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March 5, 2019
Some things worked, some things didn't, but despite the gratuitous, water-balloon-breasted nudity, by the end it looks like it might just be going somewhere.
What didn't work: a few things were rather silly, like the museum exhibit featuring two bullets fused by colliding in mid-air, which we know is genuine because it was deposited on a theatre seat by a ghost (?!?). It looks like that was just a device to provoke an early 'wow, cool' response and eventually form a tenuous link to the Crimean War arc. The main female character who seeks out the ghost is suicidal and decides the easiest way to die is not adrenaline-junkie activities or walking down dark alleys at night--no, it makes more sense to seek out a theatre ghost and ask it to kill her (?!?). But once the connection was made, the (non-romantic) relationship between the two led to interesting tensions and developments. Finally, the frequent quoting of Shakespeare lines doesn't always quite fit the situation, and it makes sense for the theatre-ghost to be doing it, but not so much the other characters.
Nudity is used in this manga as symbolic of vulnerability, so whenever Florence is feeling vulnerable or over-stressed there is an image of her naked (annoyingly emphasizing an oversized chest that looks more like over-filled water balloons than breasts--seriously, it looks like the artist is working off verbal descriptions from salivating 13-year-old boys and has never actually seen a real woman).
The ghost, Grey, starts off seeming just a vain dead blowhard, and his aesthetic of only wanting to kill Flo when she's hit rock bottom to make the 'perfect tragedy' seems a bit weird, but then, I guess you would go a bit weird after a century or so of hovering around watching the same plays 40,000 times, so I'll let it pass. By the middle you get a hint of how his motivation is evolving, and by the end you get the backstory of his origins and death, and that makes him much more rounded and interesting (and explains what he was doing haunting a theatre, which seemed kind of random before).
Now that some of the weirdnesses like that which bothered me early on have started to come together, I am interested to see where these characters go. I'll be sure to check out the next volume!
What didn't work: a few things were rather silly, like the museum exhibit featuring two bullets fused by colliding in mid-air, which we know is genuine because it was deposited on a theatre seat by a ghost (?!?). It looks like that was just a device to provoke an early 'wow, cool' response and eventually form a tenuous link to the Crimean War arc. The main female character who seeks out the ghost is suicidal and decides the easiest way to die is not adrenaline-junkie activities or walking down dark alleys at night--no, it makes more sense to seek out a theatre ghost and ask it to kill her (?!?). But once the connection was made, the (non-romantic) relationship between the two led to interesting tensions and developments. Finally, the frequent quoting of Shakespeare lines doesn't always quite fit the situation, and it makes sense for the theatre-ghost to be doing it, but not so much the other characters.
Nudity is used in this manga as symbolic of vulnerability, so whenever Florence is feeling vulnerable or over-stressed there is an image of her naked (annoyingly emphasizing an oversized chest that looks more like over-filled water balloons than breasts--seriously, it looks like the artist is working off verbal descriptions from salivating 13-year-old boys and has never actually seen a real woman).
The ghost, Grey, starts off seeming just a vain dead blowhard, and his aesthetic of only wanting to kill Flo when she's hit rock bottom to make the 'perfect tragedy' seems a bit weird, but then, I guess you would go a bit weird after a century or so of hovering around watching the same plays 40,000 times, so I'll let it pass. By the middle you get a hint of how his motivation is evolving, and by the end you get the backstory of his origins and death, and that makes him much more rounded and interesting (and explains what he was doing haunting a theatre, which seemed kind of random before).
Now that some of the weirdnesses like that which bothered me early on have started to come together, I am interested to see where these characters go. I'll be sure to check out the next volume!
December 23, 2022
❓ What It's about
The Black Museum tells the story of Florence Nightingale with an exaggerated, supernatural twist. The tale is told through the lens of a Ghost who tells us the origin of a certain item in a museum: two colliding bullets.
The story takes place in a Victorian setting where some people can see supernatural beings, like Ghosts or Eidolons.
Honestly, it took me some time to get going because I'm not a big fan of historical comic books/mangas. Most of the time, historical fiction tends to have unnecessary details that have no impact on the story. I would only read historical fiction if I'm 100% committed to the story or if it has an educational aspect.
Luckily, The Black Museum is entertaining and educational. The story starts with Nightingale's origin in a toxic disapproving environment, up to her becoming a prominent nurse, and until her demise in her old age.
👍 Likes
(+) Creative, heavily-exaggerated story. I am clueless about the Victorian settings, so I don't have much to say about the historical accuracy.
(+) The intricate art style. The atmosphere feels dark and gothic. I love the Eidolons' designs.
(+) Good Ending.
👎 Dislikes
(-) The Old Poems. This depends on whether you like it, but there are many Macbeth and Hamlet references, of which I'm not a big fan.
(-) Repetitive story & dialogue. For example, I hate how the ghost kept telling Flo, "are you in despair yet?" repeatedly that it gets annoying. The story also gets formulaic. Flo moved to a new place > she healed people > there was a supply shortage > the ghost helped her with trouble > repeat. I feel like the story could be wrapped up in a single volume.
🧠 Conclusion
If you don't know who Florence Nightengale is, and if you hate reading 1000 lines of Wikipedia articles about her, then The Black Museum is a great alternative. It's told in a highly exaggerated way. The story can be repetitive, but I enjoyed the whole series.
I give The Black Museum three out of five Eidolons 👾👾👾
The Black Museum tells the story of Florence Nightingale with an exaggerated, supernatural twist. The tale is told through the lens of a Ghost who tells us the origin of a certain item in a museum: two colliding bullets.
The story takes place in a Victorian setting where some people can see supernatural beings, like Ghosts or Eidolons.
Honestly, it took me some time to get going because I'm not a big fan of historical comic books/mangas. Most of the time, historical fiction tends to have unnecessary details that have no impact on the story. I would only read historical fiction if I'm 100% committed to the story or if it has an educational aspect.
Luckily, The Black Museum is entertaining and educational. The story starts with Nightingale's origin in a toxic disapproving environment, up to her becoming a prominent nurse, and until her demise in her old age.
👍 Likes
(+) Creative, heavily-exaggerated story. I am clueless about the Victorian settings, so I don't have much to say about the historical accuracy.
(+) The intricate art style. The atmosphere feels dark and gothic. I love the Eidolons' designs.
(+) Good Ending.
👎 Dislikes
(-) The Old Poems. This depends on whether you like it, but there are many Macbeth and Hamlet references, of which I'm not a big fan.
(-) Repetitive story & dialogue. For example, I hate how the ghost kept telling Flo, "are you in despair yet?" repeatedly that it gets annoying. The story also gets formulaic. Flo moved to a new place > she healed people > there was a supply shortage > the ghost helped her with trouble > repeat. I feel like the story could be wrapped up in a single volume.
🧠 Conclusion
If you don't know who Florence Nightengale is, and if you hate reading 1000 lines of Wikipedia articles about her, then The Black Museum is a great alternative. It's told in a highly exaggerated way. The story can be repetitive, but I enjoyed the whole series.
I give The Black Museum three out of five Eidolons 👾👾👾
February 19, 2018
The Ghost and the Lady tells the story of Florence Nightingale, the historical nurse, and The Man in Grey, a ghost of a duelist. In this case, we do follow the life events of the real Florence, but with some fantastical twists. People who are in emotional states manifest eidolons, invisible beings which affect the people around them, sometimes bending them to the will of the owner, and in others causing the owner to be bent to the will of others. Florence however seems to be an exception. A woman born to a wealthy family, but denied her calling, and viewed as strange because of the things she sees, she grows depressed. That's why she seeks out Grey. Grey is our principal narrator. It is he who has decided to share this story, for a reason yet unknown. As the story progresses, Grey slowly changes from someone who was just looking for something to stave off his boredom, to someone who cares about what happens to Florence. He isn't the warm and fuzzy type, but he feels the need to intervene more and more. This actually leads to him discovering more about his own death. Fate seems to have brought these two together for a reason, but the answers will have to wait.
The writing, with its sharp dialogue and references to other literary works, is superb. It is complemented by fast-flowing panels and lots of dramatic lines and expressions that suit the theatrical motif. The art has a sharper look more reminiscent of older manga styles, and can sometimes be a little too silly. Florence also tends to find herself stripped of her clothes by the invisible eidolon attacks. While this is meant to be a visual metaphor for her vulnerability, it isn't really necessary. Other than that, this one is very much worth trying out. The story is an unusual mixture of historical and paranormal, and new intriguing questions pop up on a regular basis.
The writing, with its sharp dialogue and references to other literary works, is superb. It is complemented by fast-flowing panels and lots of dramatic lines and expressions that suit the theatrical motif. The art has a sharper look more reminiscent of older manga styles, and can sometimes be a little too silly. Florence also tends to find herself stripped of her clothes by the invisible eidolon attacks. While this is meant to be a visual metaphor for her vulnerability, it isn't really necessary. Other than that, this one is very much worth trying out. The story is an unusual mixture of historical and paranormal, and new intriguing questions pop up on a regular basis.
Read
May 3, 2025A manga absolutely of its era, with detailed etching-like gothic illustrations, and tumblr-sexyman antihero eidolon that possesses our main character. I must admit, somewhere in my shriveled adult heart I still have a soft spot for that kind of character, from my manga-reading teen years. Of course, this comes with a deliciously tragic backstory of his life as a talented and passionate orphan who became a self-made man off of his dueling prowess only to be stricken down after he fell for the wrong girl. Most of the other reviews here state well the gripes I had with it, from the strange anachronism, strangely out of place nudity that seemed like it was "just because" (even if it had a symbolic meaning), and repetition, but bonus points for Crimean war facts and main-character (even if somewhat out of character) Florence Nightingale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2021
Florence Nightingale abandons any thought of marriage and a family, in large part because she can see ghosts. God calls her into service, but she isn't sure how to do that. But in the process of becoming the famed nurse during the Crimean War, Florence meets and binds herself by a contract to a mysterious ghost called Gray.
An unusual and intriguing story that borders on horror. (Which is why I picked it up and put it down a few times before finishing.) Graphic violence and bloodshed, disturbing imagery, etc. Gorgeous art.
An unusual and intriguing story that borders on horror. (Which is why I picked it up and put it down a few times before finishing.) Graphic violence and bloodshed, disturbing imagery, etc. Gorgeous art.
October 29, 2023
Davvero notevole la prima parte di questo manga, diviso in due volumi. Mi sono subito piaciuti i disegni, fitti fitti, che starebbero benissimo anche in un formato maggiore. La storia è ben costruita ed è incentrata sulla figura di Florence Nightingale, pioniera dell'infermieristica moderna. La sua biografia si miscela a scelte orrorifiche/fantastiche molto azzeccate. Mi ha colpito molto, in particolare, l'idea di emanazioni spiritiche che scaturiscono da ogni individuo; esse rappresentano il malanimo delle persone e combattono le une con le altre segnando i conflitti fra gli individui. L'ho trovata un'ottima metafora dei rapporti umani.
July 2, 2018
Being new to Manga I find this type of genre refreshing. It is both paranormal and historical fiction. The main characters are tragic. Mr. Grey is not evil, although he may come across as nefarious it is important to read his beginning and end of life. The lady is a historical figure. The museum curator is still a mystery but is essentially us the reader. A must read if you're into paranormal, tragic, and historical fiction.
January 15, 2022
I read a good chunk of this book in one sitting. The art was very nice, (I admit I thought the first color pages looked kind of...not great, but it quickly gets a lot better), and the story is very interesting, and apparently pretty historically accurate! I will say I really didn't like how they showed Florence Nightingale naked, like...many times, but other than that, I really enjoyed this. I'm excited to read it again one day!
September 4, 2019
I'll write about it when I finish book 2... so probably later today or tomorrow, depending on whether I drop other newly bought/borrowed mangas in between.
But let me just mention already the beauty of this hardback edition from Kodansha Comics. (Friends who got the French edition are jealous haha. 😏)
But let me just mention already the beauty of this hardback edition from Kodansha Comics. (Friends who got the French edition are jealous haha. 😏)
April 5, 2020
Interesting premise and setting, but I wasn't a fan of the execution. The art had the same vibe as Ushio and Tora, but with what felt like an uncomfortably sexualized protagonist this time around. I think I would have liked the series better without the supernatural battle scenes, perhaps with more of a Mercenary Pierre feel.
June 1, 2021
ohh my heart...
These kind of stories are the reason why I live in this life, if you like Canterville Ghost kind heartbreaking and mesmerizing stories then you will love this comic. Now, I am going to keep crying.
These kind of stories are the reason why I live in this life, if you like Canterville Ghost kind heartbreaking and mesmerizing stories then you will love this comic. Now, I am going to keep crying.
February 27, 2022
this is so cool??? i picked this up randomly because the art is pretty but stayed for the story. a story on florence nightingale and crimean war, told by a ghost who was tasked to kill her. definitely something i've never read before
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