Florence Nightingale

by Elspeth Huxley

It's been said that the three people who did most to alleviate human suffering in the 19th century were the inventors of antiseptics and chloroform--and Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale lived to be over 90 yet spent less than two years in the military hospitals at Scutari, where the legend was created. The "ministering angel" was in reality a tough domineering and brilliant administrator, scholar and writer of government reports. Elspeth Huxley concentrates on the contradictory personality of this woman, by turns a bullying martinet, a loyal and emotional friend, a compassionate nurse, a witty companion, a writer of sermons and masterly manipulator of men, who at 17 turned her back on London society when she heard a call from God to service.

Genres: History, Health, War, Biography

254 pages, Paperback

Published April 25, 1975

About the author

Elspeth Joscelin Huxley was an English writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government adviser. She wrote over 40 books, including her best-known lyrical books, The Flame Trees of Thika and The Mottled Lizard, based on her youth in a coffee farm in British Kenya. Her husband, Gervas Huxley, was a grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley and a cousin of Aldous Huxley.

Reviews

[Bonny Stedt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The life of Florence Nightingale was extraordinary. That much at least was communicated to me through this book. I would not however, say that the book matched its subject in excellence. The book was able to communicate a general idea of Florence Nightingale. It includes accounts of her early life, experiences in Crimea, and her enormous contributions to the world's views on nursing and medicine. The book has a great deal of Florence's own writings, which help to communicate some of her genuine nature and feeling. However, at times the writing can be vague and leaves the reader unclear as to the idea the author is trying to communicate. There were multiple occasions that I, as the reader, had to read a passage several times to glean the meaning. Even then, there were instances that the author's meaning was completely lost to me due to peculiar phraseology. It took me only a few hours, (somewhere between 4 and 7) to finish this book. I was deeply touched by some of the experiences recorded, especially those written in the hand of Florence Nightingale. In particular I was brought to tears by the account of Florence's wishes to have her grave marked only by a white cross with her name, birth, and death dates. This book was not the easiest, nor the most enjoyable read, but it was sufficient.

[Abigail Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

General biography, would've liked to know more on the specifics of how she changed the field of nursing, etc.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This year (2010) is the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's death. I heard just a bit of a "Thinking Aloud" interview on KBYU about the anniversary and I decided to learn more. I really didn't know much about her except that she changed sanitation in British army hospitals and changed the nursing profession into something we would recognize today. The biography itself is fairly basic, but she was an interesting lady.