What do you think?
Rate this book
Nightingales #6
Zeit der Entscheidung
London, 1940. Während der Blitzkrieg über London wütet, setzen die Krankenschwestern des Nightingale Hospitals alles daran, den Krankenhausbetrieb aufrechtzuerhalten. Auch Dora, die inzwischen Mutter von Zwillingen ist, kehrt zurück, um ihre einstigen Kolleginnen bei der kräftezehrenden Arbeit zu unterstützen. Ganz anders als die Hilfsschwestern Jennifer und Cissy, die vor allem zwei Dinge im Sinn haben: schöne Kleider und attraktive Männer. Doch ihre romantischen Träume werden schon bald von dramatischen Ereignissen überschattet...
481 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2015
176 people are currently reading
421 people want to read
About the author
Donna Douglas
35 books255 followersWelcome to my Goodreads page.
I'm the author of the Nightingale novels, a series of stories set in an East End hospital in the 1930s, published by Arrow.
The first in the series, The Nightingale Girls, follows the lives of three girls from very different backgrounds as they join the Nightingale Hospital as students. The second, The Nightingale Sisters, will be published next spring.
I'm originally from London, but I now live in the beautiful city of York.
I'm the author of the Nightingale novels, a series of stories set in an East End hospital in the 1930s, published by Arrow.
The first in the series, The Nightingale Girls, follows the lives of three girls from very different backgrounds as they join the Nightingale Hospital as students. The second, The Nightingale Sisters, will be published next spring.
I'm originally from London, but I now live in the beautiful city of York.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
February 12, 2022
Wieder mal ein wahrer Hörgenuss, auch weil Tessa Mittelstaedt grandios gut liest. Ich war wieder ganz beim Nightingale Hospital, London und den Schwestern. Wir sind mitten im Krieg und die Angriffe auf London nehmen zu. Der Blitzkrieg geschieht und unsere Protagonist*innen sind leider mittendrin. Diesen Aspekt fand ich wahnsinnig spannend und auch alle „erwachsenen“ Geschichten rund um die Krankenhausleitung und auch Dora, die wieder eine größere Rolle einnimmt.
In der ersten Hälfte war ich dieses Mal allerdings nicht immer 100%ig überzeugt, weil mir die Hilfsschwestern Jennifer und Cissy etwas auf die Nerven gingen mit ihrem Klischee Mädchenhaften, aber dafür wurde es im Verlauf der Geschichte besser, weil sie eine tolle Entwicklung durchmachen. Das Ende war herzzerreißend, aber richtig gut.
Band 7 liegt bereits in der Audible App :)
In der ersten Hälfte war ich dieses Mal allerdings nicht immer 100%ig überzeugt, weil mir die Hilfsschwestern Jennifer und Cissy etwas auf die Nerven gingen mit ihrem Klischee Mädchenhaften, aber dafür wurde es im Verlauf der Geschichte besser, weil sie eine tolle Entwicklung durchmachen. Das Ende war herzzerreißend, aber richtig gut.
Band 7 liegt bereits in der Audible App :)
June 23, 2021
Wieder ein absolutes Highlight,ich konnte mich nur schwer von Dora, Helen und den neuen Protagonisten trennen. Es ging auch sehr emotional zu und ein paar Tränchen sind wieder geflossen. Wir befinden uns jetzt mitten im 2. Weltkriegs und Hitler macht vor England/ London nicht halt. Wir spüren sehr,was es bedeutet im Krieg zu sein und ich hab so mit gelitten. Es passieren Dinge,die ich nur schwer akzeptieren kann und die mein Herz ein wenig gebrochen haben.🙈🥺 Ganz großes Kino❤️❤️❤️
November 17, 2022
Huii.. da gab es doch das eine oder andere Tränchen
June 13, 2021
Dieses Buch der Nightingale Reihe hat mich auf eine wahre Achterbahn der Gefühle mitgenommen. Einfach grandioses !!!
June 29, 2018
War wieder ganz toll und zum Schluss echt traurig 😢
October 15, 2017
Ich kann nicht anders außer 5 Sterne zu geben. Die Reihe ist einfach perfekt.
May 7, 2015
Nightingales at War is the fifth in the Nightingales series, I have previously reviewed the first four books here on Random Things; The Nightingale Girls (September 2012); The Nightingale Sisters (April 2013); The Nightingale Nurses (November 2013) and Nightingales on Call (April 2014).
Although the Nightingales are something of a departure from my usual reading, I really enjoy this series and look forward to each new instalment. Donna Douglas continues to write engaging and dramatic stories, this time the Nightingale Nurses are having to deal with the atrocities of war. Not only nursing the wounded, but also worrying and wondering about their own loved ones, fighting overseas.
Dora is the lead character in this story. She's now married but has returned to nursing to help the war effort, and to try to keep herself busy and prevent her from fretting about her husband Nick who is posted overseas.
The reader is also introduced to new characters, this time the volunteer nurses; the VADs, rather than the students of previous books in the series.
As always, Donna Douglas captures the life of these amazing women so well. I was amazed when I learnt that the author was not a trained nurse, she has certainly done some fabulous research, and Nightingales at War is another wonderful addition to this great series
March 10, 2017
I read this on the kindle
This is the 6th in the series
This one really good one it focuses on the bombing of London but from the peoples lives rather than the all just bombing it has some teary moments just like WW2 this comes across with the spirit of the blitz a really good book looking forward to starting the 7th one
This is the 6th in the series
This one really good one it focuses on the bombing of London but from the peoples lives rather than the all just bombing it has some teary moments just like WW2 this comes across with the spirit of the blitz a really good book looking forward to starting the 7th one
March 14, 2023
Ach, wie war es wieder schön! Und gegen Ende so dramatisch, dass ich die letzten 3 Stunden am Stück durchhören musste, weil ich unbedingt wissen wollte, wie es ausgeht! Ich war wieder sehr gern im Nightingale-Hospital, auch wenn die Umstände während des "Blitz" in London natürlich sehr dramatisch sind - dramatischer als in den Vorgängerbänden. Von den bekannten Figuren spielen nur Dora und die Oberin eine größere Rolle, ansonsten werden drei neue Schwesternhelferinnen resp. -schülerinnen eingeführt. Die sind mir dann ein wenig zu sehr schwarz-weiß - Jen kommt mir sehr oberflächlich-naiv rüber, Elsie und vor allem ihre Tante sind definitiv viel zu "grundgut aber schüchtern" respektive "böse und gemein" - aber ist schon ok, zu einer anständigen Seifenoper gehören nun mal auch ein paar ordentliche Bösewichte. Ich überlege - mal wieder - ob ich nicht gleich im Anschluß den nächsten Band höre oder ob ich mir den noch etwas aufspare - nicht, dass ich dann irgendwann nix mehr zu hören habe! Gelesen wird es -wie immer sehr gut - von Tessa Middelstaedt.
September 6, 2020
Feelings of Trepidation, Yet a Calm Feeling.
There were many times I felt trepidation as I listened to this recording, and yet even though I knew there would be sadness and unsettling situations, this book would leave me feeling happy I had read it.
I am not disappointed. And I look forward to the next book in this series.
The performance as always is incredible!
There were many times I felt trepidation as I listened to this recording, and yet even though I knew there would be sadness and unsettling situations, this book would leave me feeling happy I had read it.
I am not disappointed. And I look forward to the next book in this series.
The performance as always is incredible!
April 24, 2020
Enjoyed...This like getting together with an old friend
July 6, 2022
Another great book but I did find it very emotional.
May 23, 2015
It's like Malory towers for adults. Comforting and easy reading with characters that you know well. It's not going to win fancy literary prizes but I can't help enjoying these books!
July 3, 2015
Another good story in the Nightingales series. I so hope there is a Book 7! Donna has confirmed there will be a 7th book.
February 9, 2018
This book picks up right where the last one left off. The so called phony war has lulled people into a false sense of security. Churchill has just become Prime Minister and all eyes are across the channel as Hitler and his army take country after country aiming right for England. The Nightingale remains open but changed. A lot of the long term patients are in the country and many of the doctors, nurses and porters have joined the fight. Helen continues her work as the head nurse in casualty and tries unsuccessfully to keep her relationship with Dr. McKay secret. Dora now a married woman and mother of twins gets her old job back working the wards but nearly suffers a complete breakdown when the Dunkirk casualties start to come in. Matron Fox remains at the helm a woman ahead of her time she values not just the health of the patients but that of her staff, including their mental health. She continues to butt heads with Assistant Matron Hanley as always. There are three new arrivals as well, Jennifer and Sissy who join up in the hopes of tending wounded soldiers soonlearn there is more to the job than that and will be forever changed by their experiences at the Nightingale especially during the blitz. Eve is a shy promising young VAD stuck living with her brutally abusive aunt but who begins to learn about her true self and worth through her work. All I can say about this book is wow. What a complete roller coaster. As with other wartime books this once doesn't sugar coat things. There are deaths of two fairly significant characters, plenty of drama, and for me at least a few tears. I can't wait to see what else this war has in store for the Nightingale. My wish and hope is that Millie will return, I miss having her around. For now though I'm excited to see Dora and the three new girls continue to grow learn and evolve as they struggle to survive the war.
September 28, 2021
As the war takes its toll, the Nightingale nurses must do their bit for king and country…
Dora is the devoted mother of twin babies but, determined to help the war effort, she goes back to work at the Nightingale Hospital.
More used to nights out in the West End, Jennifer and Cissy volunteer in the hope of tending to handsome soldiers. They soon find out that nursing isn’t quite what they were expecting.
For shy and troubled Eve, the hospital provides an escape from the pressures of home, but the life of a nurse is never easy, especially at wartime.
Can the nurses rally together while war rages all around them? And will the Nightingale Hospital survive the Blitz?
Hospital porters are employed to move patients between wards and departments and to move goods and vital supplies including medical equipment, linen, blood, and samples. This is generally not regarded as skilled work, it attracts little attention and pay and conditions are generally among the lowest in the hospital.Hospital porters and orderlies were generally recruited from conscientious objectors.
Nurses had to set aside their grievances and throw themselves into the war effort.War brings new clinical challenges to health professionals – mainly in the shape of traumatic injuries they would rarely if ever see in peacetime. City hospitals cared for the casualties under difficult conditions. Patients were often treated while staff cleared up the hospital’s own bomb damage around them. Bombings at home and fighting on the numerous overseas fronts increased the demand for nurses. However, with most of the country’s men conscripted into the armed forces women with the level of education required of registered nurses had an unprecedented range of career options. Many of these offered better pay and working conditions – and personal freedom – than nursing.The profession realised that although more nurses were desperately needed, the real requirement was for people who could do the less technical aspects of the job but who still had core nursing skills.
Dora is the devoted mother of twin babies but, determined to help the war effort, she goes back to work at the Nightingale Hospital.
More used to nights out in the West End, Jennifer and Cissy volunteer in the hope of tending to handsome soldiers. They soon find out that nursing isn’t quite what they were expecting.
For shy and troubled Eve, the hospital provides an escape from the pressures of home, but the life of a nurse is never easy, especially at wartime.
Can the nurses rally together while war rages all around them? And will the Nightingale Hospital survive the Blitz?
Hospital porters are employed to move patients between wards and departments and to move goods and vital supplies including medical equipment, linen, blood, and samples. This is generally not regarded as skilled work, it attracts little attention and pay and conditions are generally among the lowest in the hospital.Hospital porters and orderlies were generally recruited from conscientious objectors.
Nurses had to set aside their grievances and throw themselves into the war effort.War brings new clinical challenges to health professionals – mainly in the shape of traumatic injuries they would rarely if ever see in peacetime. City hospitals cared for the casualties under difficult conditions. Patients were often treated while staff cleared up the hospital’s own bomb damage around them. Bombings at home and fighting on the numerous overseas fronts increased the demand for nurses. However, with most of the country’s men conscripted into the armed forces women with the level of education required of registered nurses had an unprecedented range of career options. Many of these offered better pay and working conditions – and personal freedom – than nursing.The profession realised that although more nurses were desperately needed, the real requirement was for people who could do the less technical aspects of the job but who still had core nursing skills.
November 21, 2022
Aww these books are just getting better and better.
Dora is now married with two children but as the war intensifies she returns to the wards.
We catch up with Helen Dawson and her new romance and also meet new characters Eve Stanton, Cissy Baxter and Jennifer Caldwell.
When the Nightingale is threatened by falling bombs as the blitz is in operation everyone has to step up to the plate.
Love, loss and heartbreak are in the offing for all as they struggle to make sense of their new world and landscape after the chaos.
This was a really harrowing and graphic episode in the dramas of the Nightingale girls.
Sad yet so reminiscent of those years.
Dora is now married with two children but as the war intensifies she returns to the wards.
We catch up with Helen Dawson and her new romance and also meet new characters Eve Stanton, Cissy Baxter and Jennifer Caldwell.
When the Nightingale is threatened by falling bombs as the blitz is in operation everyone has to step up to the plate.
Love, loss and heartbreak are in the offing for all as they struggle to make sense of their new world and landscape after the chaos.
This was a really harrowing and graphic episode in the dramas of the Nightingale girls.
Sad yet so reminiscent of those years.
June 10, 2025
Ich bin wieder nur so durch die Seiten geflogen!
Was für ein schönes Buch. Jeder Band dieser Reihe ist so ein bisschen wie nach Hause kommen. Ich muss mir die verbliebenen Bände fürchte ich so ein bisschen einteilen, damit ich nicht zu schnell durch die Bücher fliege. Die Mischung aus lieben alten Bekannten und neuen Gesichtern war wieder sehr spannend erzählt und es war eine Freude zu lesen. Dieser Band war jedoch besonders hart, weil wir uns von liebgewonnenen Charakteren verabschieden müssen. Wirklich sehr traurig. 😢
Ich bin gespannt, wen wir in den noch folgenden Bänden hoffentlich noch einmal wieder treffen werden.
Was für ein schönes Buch. Jeder Band dieser Reihe ist so ein bisschen wie nach Hause kommen. Ich muss mir die verbliebenen Bände fürchte ich so ein bisschen einteilen, damit ich nicht zu schnell durch die Bücher fliege. Die Mischung aus lieben alten Bekannten und neuen Gesichtern war wieder sehr spannend erzählt und es war eine Freude zu lesen. Dieser Band war jedoch besonders hart, weil wir uns von liebgewonnenen Charakteren verabschieden müssen. Wirklich sehr traurig. 😢
Ich bin gespannt, wen wir in den noch folgenden Bänden hoffentlich noch einmal wieder treffen werden.
March 15, 2018
I enjoyed this tale of the Nightingale nurses but not as much as the previous 5 books. I didn't like the three new characters at first - Eve, Jennifer and Cissy. Eve was the most interesting of the three - Jennifer and Cissy just seemed like superficial spoilt girls. Jennifer did improve in the last chapter though.
Again this book follows Dora who has been there since the start of the series, and also features Helen but not as much as I would have liked. It will be interesting to see who the next book follows.
Again this book follows Dora who has been there since the start of the series, and also features Helen but not as much as I would have liked. It will be interesting to see who the next book follows.
September 12, 2024
Jeg nyder at læse denne serie. Det er nogle gode personbeskrivelser, der åbner op for mange spændende historier. Og nye personer dukker op, med hver deres styrker og svagheder.
Krigen er brudt ud og London er under hårdt angreb. Bomberne regner ned over byen. Og Nightingale sygehuset slipper heller ikke uskadt. Sygehusets personale må arbejde i kælderen, uden elektricitet og helt uden dødsfald slipper Nightingale ikke.
Alligevel holder læger og sygeplejersker hovedet højt løftet og fortsætter med arbejdet.
Glæder mig til næste bog i serien.
Krigen er brudt ud og London er under hårdt angreb. Bomberne regner ned over byen. Og Nightingale sygehuset slipper heller ikke uskadt. Sygehusets personale må arbejde i kælderen, uden elektricitet og helt uden dødsfald slipper Nightingale ikke.
Alligevel holder læger og sygeplejersker hovedet højt løftet og fortsætter med arbejdet.
Glæder mig til næste bog i serien.
January 30, 2019
Nursing at its best
O chose this particular book because it is about life and nursing during the second world war. The author brings the families to life along with things that they faced whilst caring for the sick and injured. It shows how people relied on each other at this time, and how important family and friends rallied around in times of need. It also shows how dedicated nurses and doctors where during this very stressful time. 😀
O chose this particular book because it is about life and nursing during the second world war. The author brings the families to life along with things that they faced whilst caring for the sick and injured. It shows how people relied on each other at this time, and how important family and friends rallied around in times of need. It also shows how dedicated nurses and doctors where during this very stressful time. 😀
June 11, 2022
4,5 Sterne
Wie in den anderen Bänden auch weiß Donna Douglas den Leser mit Humor, Tragik und sympathischen Charakteren zu fesseln.
Wir treffen auf bekannte Charaktere und lernen neue kennen, die sich im 2. Weltkrieg befinden und mit den Schrecken des Krieges zu kämpfen haben. Dies wird anhand verschiedener Schicksale eindringlich geschildert. Bisher mit der stärkste Band der Reihe, auch wenn ich mehr über Helen hätte
erfahren wollen.
Wie in den anderen Bänden auch weiß Donna Douglas den Leser mit Humor, Tragik und sympathischen Charakteren zu fesseln.
Wir treffen auf bekannte Charaktere und lernen neue kennen, die sich im 2. Weltkrieg befinden und mit den Schrecken des Krieges zu kämpfen haben. Dies wird anhand verschiedener Schicksale eindringlich geschildert. Bisher mit der stärkste Band der Reihe, auch wenn ich mehr über Helen hätte
erfahren wollen.
February 6, 2019
I love this series of books. Every time that I think that it might be getting a bit too saccharine, the author throws in some gritty reality.
I love all of the characters, I love the story line and have watched it develop into World War II nursing.
Give these books a try--you will love them too.
I love all of the characters, I love the story line and have watched it develop into World War II nursing.
Give these books a try--you will love them too.
March 15, 2018
Heartbreaking
This one is an heartbreaking installment of the nightingales, friendships blossom while others wither yet make it through. Some truly heart retching moments. Read with a box of tissues to wipe your tears
This one is an heartbreaking installment of the nightingales, friendships blossom while others wither yet make it through. Some truly heart retching moments. Read with a box of tissues to wipe your tears
November 23, 2018
Brilliant
Another great book from this author, the more of her books i read the more I want. She has given the book a life of its own, and created a great story full of love and hope. An excellent read highly recommend.
Another great book from this author, the more of her books i read the more I want. She has given the book a life of its own, and created a great story full of love and hope. An excellent read highly recommend.
June 8, 2020
Read in 24 hours
Stormed through this latest trip back to the Nightingale nurses, which tells of life at the hospital during the blitz. New girls Eve, Cissy & Jen join old favourites at the hospital during the war. I read this in one day and thoroughly enjoyed it
Stormed through this latest trip back to the Nightingale nurses, which tells of life at the hospital during the blitz. New girls Eve, Cissy & Jen join old favourites at the hospital during the war. I read this in one day and thoroughly enjoyed it
September 15, 2020
Absolutely brilliant as always. Very gritty and you get the feeling you are in the Nightingale Hospital and The Blitz, it is so well written. Dora becomes vulnerable in this book. It’s interesting to read. Amazing book.
May 24, 2021
A mild entertaining read about the nurses and doctors and families of the Nightingale Hospital during the blitz years. I enjoyed it but there was not much depth in it. More of a chick lit book than a commentary on nursing in the war years.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews