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The Nurses' War
There is more than one way to fight a war...An extraordinary story of grit, love and loss, based on the true history and real experiences of Australian nurses in World War 1. 'Heart-achingly raw yet filled with the beauty of the human spirit, this novel is a triumph that will linger in the heart and psyche.' Karen Brooks, author of The Good Wife of Bath
In 1915, as World War 1 rages in Europe and the numbers of dead and injured continue to grow, Australian nurse, Sister Cora Barker, leaves her home in Australia for England, determined to use her skills for King and country. When she arrives at Harefield House - donated to the Australian Army by its expatriate Australian owners - she helps transform it into a hospital that is also a little piece of home for recuperating Australian soldiers.
As the months pass, her mission to save diggers lives becomes more urgent as the darkest months of the war see injured soldiers from the battlefields of France and Belgium flood into Harefield in the thousands. When the hospital sends out a desperate call for help, a quiet young seamstress from the village, Jessie Chester, steps up as a volunteer. At the hospital she meets Private Bert Mott, a recovering Australian soldier, but the looming threat of his return to the Front hangs over them. Could her first love be her first heartbreak?
Cora's and Jessie's futures, their hearts and their lives hang in the balance as the never-ending wave of injured and dying soldiers threatens to overwhelm the hospital and the hopes of a nation rest on a knife edge. The nurses war is a war against despair and death, fought with science and love rather than mustard gas and fear - but can they possibly win it? And what will be the cost?
In 1915, as World War 1 rages in Europe and the numbers of dead and injured continue to grow, Australian nurse, Sister Cora Barker, leaves her home in Australia for England, determined to use her skills for King and country. When she arrives at Harefield House - donated to the Australian Army by its expatriate Australian owners - she helps transform it into a hospital that is also a little piece of home for recuperating Australian soldiers.
As the months pass, her mission to save diggers lives becomes more urgent as the darkest months of the war see injured soldiers from the battlefields of France and Belgium flood into Harefield in the thousands. When the hospital sends out a desperate call for help, a quiet young seamstress from the village, Jessie Chester, steps up as a volunteer. At the hospital she meets Private Bert Mott, a recovering Australian soldier, but the looming threat of his return to the Front hangs over them. Could her first love be her first heartbreak?
Cora's and Jessie's futures, their hearts and their lives hang in the balance as the never-ending wave of injured and dying soldiers threatens to overwhelm the hospital and the hopes of a nation rest on a knife edge. The nurses war is a war against despair and death, fought with science and love rather than mustard gas and fear - but can they possibly win it? And what will be the cost?
608 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2022
48 people are currently reading
937 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Purman
33 books431 followersVictoria Purman is an Australian bestselling author.
If you want to know more about her and her books, visit www.victoriapurman.com or follow her on facebook at Victoria Purman Author or on twitter @VictoriaPurman.
If you want to know more about her and her books, visit www.victoriapurman.com or follow her on facebook at Victoria Purman Author or on twitter @VictoriaPurman.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
March 25, 2022
It was 1915 when Sister Cora Barker from Adelaide in South Australia, was joined by other nurses from Australia, Gertie, Fiona and Leonora on a ship headed for England where they would become part of the Australian nursing contingent, established at Harefield House, which had been donated for the duration of the war by the Billyard-Leake family who were Australian by birth. The magnificent house was soon transformed into a hospital for Australian soldiers, where rank didn’t matter, they were all men, all soldiers, who needed help. Under the guide of the Matron, the two hundred and fifty bed hospital was soon established. But before the war was over, the hospital would have housed over one thousand men at one time, while doctors and nurses continued to arrive along with the influx of dreadfully injured diggers.
Jessie Chester and her mother Win were seamstresses, working from their home in Harefield. Harry, Jessie’s sister, also lived at home. When the nearby hospital called urgently for volunteers, Jessie turned up, willing and able to assist in any way she could. Her meeting of Private Bert Mott, injured and recovering, would prove to be a turning point in Jessie’s life…
They’d been told the war would be over by Christmas, but as 1915 turned into 1916, then 1917, the dreadful injuries of the wounded soldiers who continued to arrive, covered with lice, their uniforms filthy, flowed through the hospital. The activities for the men, to boost their spirits, the Christmas celebrations and concerts – all helped at the time. And the Australian diggers were a jolly lot, joking about and trying not to show their pain. They loved the nurses and sisters, loved the attention and care they were given. While Cora and her friends smiled to cover their pain and exhaustion of what they faced daily. Everyone involved would have their lives changed forever.
The Nurses' War by Aussie author Victoria Purman is a spectacular story based on “true history and real experiences of Australian nurses in WWI.” Ms Purman has done an amazing amount of research for this novel and in putting human faces to the story, she drew me in, had me completely entranced from the very first page. How did the nurses, the doctors, the volunteers, ever continue, day after day, with the heartache and devastation they faced? A story of love and compassion, of sacrifice, friendship – and the tragedy of war, The Nurses' War is one I highly recommend.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Jessie Chester and her mother Win were seamstresses, working from their home in Harefield. Harry, Jessie’s sister, also lived at home. When the nearby hospital called urgently for volunteers, Jessie turned up, willing and able to assist in any way she could. Her meeting of Private Bert Mott, injured and recovering, would prove to be a turning point in Jessie’s life…
They’d been told the war would be over by Christmas, but as 1915 turned into 1916, then 1917, the dreadful injuries of the wounded soldiers who continued to arrive, covered with lice, their uniforms filthy, flowed through the hospital. The activities for the men, to boost their spirits, the Christmas celebrations and concerts – all helped at the time. And the Australian diggers were a jolly lot, joking about and trying not to show their pain. They loved the nurses and sisters, loved the attention and care they were given. While Cora and her friends smiled to cover their pain and exhaustion of what they faced daily. Everyone involved would have their lives changed forever.
The Nurses' War by Aussie author Victoria Purman is a spectacular story based on “true history and real experiences of Australian nurses in WWI.” Ms Purman has done an amazing amount of research for this novel and in putting human faces to the story, she drew me in, had me completely entranced from the very first page. How did the nurses, the doctors, the volunteers, ever continue, day after day, with the heartache and devastation they faced? A story of love and compassion, of sacrifice, friendship – and the tragedy of war, The Nurses' War is one I highly recommend.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
March 30, 2022
Sister Cora Barker begins her six week boat trip to England in May 1915 and she’s a member of the Australian Army Nursing Service. Cora and fellow nurses arrive at Harefield Park, the Billyard-Leake family have donated the use of their country estate and they have ties to Australia.
The house and grounds need to be transformed into a convalescent hospital, Matron Gray is in charge, Cora and her fellow nurses Gertie North, Leonora Grady and Fiona Patterson get to work. The hospital is ready in June, the wounded arrive at Denham railway station and are transported by ambulance and truck to the new hospital. The men arrive in a terrible state, in pain and wearing filthy and lice infested uniforms and received basic medical treatment at a causality clearing station. Most need life saving surgery, Cora’s his theatre nurse and despite her years of nursing experience Cora feels sick when she sees the damage war has done to the young men’s bodies and minds.
The demand on the hospital increases, bloody battles are fought in Gallipoli, Serbia, France and Belgium. The hospital is extended across the vast lawns of Harefield Park, more Australia surgeons and nurses have been deployed to work at the busy facility.
Jessie Chester lives in the village of Harefield, she’s a dressmaker and she’s invited to afternoon tea at the estate. Jessie and her mum Win helped the nurses clean Harefield house when they were setting it up as a hospital and Jessie's shocked by the men’s injuries and she volunteers to help. Jessie preforms a variety of tasks and she cleans, washes dishes, darns socks, lights cigarettes and writes letters for blind soldiers. One Aussie soldier stands out amongst the others and its Private Bert Mott and he’s from Murray Bridge in South Australia. For the first time Jessie starts to question where she belongs, she's never considered leaving Harefield and moving away from her family. Jessie dreads the day Bert is declared fit for duty, he will return to France and be back fighting in the trenches.
Less than a year after the hospital opened, the doctors, nurses and staff are all mentally and physically exhausted, most have lost weight, aged and they don’t know how much longer they can continue working in such a stressful and heartbreaking place.
Based on true facts about The Great War, the village of Harefield and the hospital and wartime experiences of Australian nurses. The Nurses' War had me captivated by the first chapter, it’s a story about the horrors of war, sacrifice, selflessness, friendship, love, loss, tragedy, compassion and hope. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review, a heartfelt narrative by Victoria Purman, I highly recommend reading this book and five stars from me.
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The house and grounds need to be transformed into a convalescent hospital, Matron Gray is in charge, Cora and her fellow nurses Gertie North, Leonora Grady and Fiona Patterson get to work. The hospital is ready in June, the wounded arrive at Denham railway station and are transported by ambulance and truck to the new hospital. The men arrive in a terrible state, in pain and wearing filthy and lice infested uniforms and received basic medical treatment at a causality clearing station. Most need life saving surgery, Cora’s his theatre nurse and despite her years of nursing experience Cora feels sick when she sees the damage war has done to the young men’s bodies and minds.
The demand on the hospital increases, bloody battles are fought in Gallipoli, Serbia, France and Belgium. The hospital is extended across the vast lawns of Harefield Park, more Australia surgeons and nurses have been deployed to work at the busy facility.
Jessie Chester lives in the village of Harefield, she’s a dressmaker and she’s invited to afternoon tea at the estate. Jessie and her mum Win helped the nurses clean Harefield house when they were setting it up as a hospital and Jessie's shocked by the men’s injuries and she volunteers to help. Jessie preforms a variety of tasks and she cleans, washes dishes, darns socks, lights cigarettes and writes letters for blind soldiers. One Aussie soldier stands out amongst the others and its Private Bert Mott and he’s from Murray Bridge in South Australia. For the first time Jessie starts to question where she belongs, she's never considered leaving Harefield and moving away from her family. Jessie dreads the day Bert is declared fit for duty, he will return to France and be back fighting in the trenches.
Less than a year after the hospital opened, the doctors, nurses and staff are all mentally and physically exhausted, most have lost weight, aged and they don’t know how much longer they can continue working in such a stressful and heartbreaking place.
Based on true facts about The Great War, the village of Harefield and the hospital and wartime experiences of Australian nurses. The Nurses' War had me captivated by the first chapter, it’s a story about the horrors of war, sacrifice, selflessness, friendship, love, loss, tragedy, compassion and hope. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review, a heartfelt narrative by Victoria Purman, I highly recommend reading this book and five stars from me.
https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KarrenReadsH...
October 1, 2022
The Nurses’ War by Aussie author Victoria Purman is an extraordinary story. There is so much I want to say about this book, but I know my review will not do this book justice, so I’m going to keep this review short.
In my opinion, this book is historical fiction at its very best. Captivating, engrossing, heartwarming and heartbreaking are just a few of the things that come to mind to describe this amazing story. An outstanding and brilliant read and to appreciate the amount of research that has gone into this novel you need to read it if you haven’t already. If I could’ve given it a higher star rating I would have as it deserves far more than five. If you enjoy historical fiction then this book is a must for you. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
In my opinion, this book is historical fiction at its very best. Captivating, engrossing, heartwarming and heartbreaking are just a few of the things that come to mind to describe this amazing story. An outstanding and brilliant read and to appreciate the amount of research that has gone into this novel you need to read it if you haven’t already. If I could’ve given it a higher star rating I would have as it deserves far more than five. If you enjoy historical fiction then this book is a must for you. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
July 4, 2022
The Nurses' War by Victoria Purman
Synopsis /
There is more than one way to fight a war...An extraordinary story of grit, love and loss, based on the true history and real experiences of Australian nurses in World War 1. In 1915, as World War 1 rages in Europe and the numbers of dead and injured continue to grow, Australian nurse, Sister Cora Barker, leaves her home in Australia for England, determined to use her skills for King and country. When she arrives at Harefield House - donated to the Australian Army by its expatriate Australian owners - she helps transform it into a hospital that is also a little piece of home for recuperating Australian soldiers.
As the months pass, her mission to save diggers lives becomes more urgent as the darkest months of the war see injured soldiers from the battlefields of France and Belgium flood into Harefield in the thousands. When the hospital sends out a desperate call for help, a quiet young seamstress from the village, Jessie Chester, steps up as a volunteer. At the hospital she meets Private Bert Mott, a recuperating Australian soldier, but the looming threat of his return to the Front hangs over them. Could her first love be her first heartbreak?
My Thoughts /
And when her role was complete, she would sail back home across the vast oceans and return to the little cottage on the lane in Adelaide's inner west in which she'd been born and had lived all her life. She loved the place where the boobooks hooted at night and dark swarms of spindly bats emerged from the tall palms in the front yard of the old house across the street, swooping and stealing fruit while they navigated with their metallic squeaks.
The Nurses' War is written by Australia author, Victoria Purman, and inspired by real life experiences of serving nurses during WWI. It is a refreshingly different take on the historical fiction trope.
Set in the first Australian Auxiliary Hospital established in Britain for the recuperation and rehabilitation of Australian soldiers during WWI, the story is related from two perspectives - Australian nurse, Sister Cora Barker and Harefield Park House hospital volunteer (extraordinaire), Jessie Chester - and spanning through the five years they cared for the soldiers that passed through their makeshift hospital at Harefield Park House Estate.
December 1914, Harefield Park House was in the possession of Mr Charles Billyard Leake, who owned extensive sheep farms in Australia. Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, he offered his house and estate to the Australian Government as a convalescent hospital for the overseas forces. From 1915 until January 1919, the house became home to the No.1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, and the grounds around the mansion were filled with many huts. Originally it was estimated that the house would accommodate fifty soldiers under winter conditions and 150 during spring and summer. At the height of its use it accommodated over 1,000 beds and had a large nursing and ancillary support staff.
One of the other things that stood out for me, apart from the refreshingly different take on a WWI story, was the page count. There is over 600 pages worth of story sitting in between the front and back cover. That's a lot of pages to get to know our two protagonists.
Early 1915, Nurse Cora Barker arrives at Harefield Park House from South Australia. At age thirty-one, Cora is an experienced nurse and eager to serve her country by providing care for men injured in battle. However, nothing has prepared her for the challenges of nursing during wartime. It's here where Cora cements friendships with fellow nurses, Gertie North, Leonora Grady and Fiona Patterson.
‘The four of them, so young in some cases and naïve in others, had believed themselves to be setting out on some kind of heroic adventure in which they would save the world and all the soldiers in it.’
Purman details the daily operation of the hospital as Cora and her fellow nursing staff spend long shifts caring for the wounded men. While often contending with their own physical exhaustion, stages of home sickness, and, for many, emotional distress, the nurses worked with sensitivity and compassion to care for their wounded charges, many of whom had gruesome physical injuries and fragile mental health. For many soldiers, shell shock was very real. The term "shell shock" was coined by the soldiers themselves. Symptoms included fatigue, tremor, confusion, nightmares and impaired sight and hearing. It was often diagnosed when a soldier was unable to function and no obvious cause could be identified.
Running parallel with the subplot belonging to the nurses, is the story of civilian, Jessie Chester. Here, the author explores the effects of war on the civilians of Britain. Jessie works as a seamstress and lives with her widowed mother and brother. Jessie and her mother are invited to help with the setting up of the hospital at Harefield Park. Shocked by the severity of the soldier's injuries, Jessie volunteers to help in any way she can - cleaning, washing, darning and writing letters home for the soldiers who had been blinded by mustard gas or shrapnel.
Both threads include themes of friendship, romance, love, heart ache, sadness and joy. Based on the true stories of real life experiences of the Australian women who served at Harefield Hospital in Middlesex, England, The Nurses' War is a book worth adding to your reading collection.
Synopsis /
There is more than one way to fight a war...An extraordinary story of grit, love and loss, based on the true history and real experiences of Australian nurses in World War 1. In 1915, as World War 1 rages in Europe and the numbers of dead and injured continue to grow, Australian nurse, Sister Cora Barker, leaves her home in Australia for England, determined to use her skills for King and country. When she arrives at Harefield House - donated to the Australian Army by its expatriate Australian owners - she helps transform it into a hospital that is also a little piece of home for recuperating Australian soldiers.
As the months pass, her mission to save diggers lives becomes more urgent as the darkest months of the war see injured soldiers from the battlefields of France and Belgium flood into Harefield in the thousands. When the hospital sends out a desperate call for help, a quiet young seamstress from the village, Jessie Chester, steps up as a volunteer. At the hospital she meets Private Bert Mott, a recuperating Australian soldier, but the looming threat of his return to the Front hangs over them. Could her first love be her first heartbreak?
My Thoughts /
And when her role was complete, she would sail back home across the vast oceans and return to the little cottage on the lane in Adelaide's inner west in which she'd been born and had lived all her life. She loved the place where the boobooks hooted at night and dark swarms of spindly bats emerged from the tall palms in the front yard of the old house across the street, swooping and stealing fruit while they navigated with their metallic squeaks.
The Nurses' War is written by Australia author, Victoria Purman, and inspired by real life experiences of serving nurses during WWI. It is a refreshingly different take on the historical fiction trope.
Set in the first Australian Auxiliary Hospital established in Britain for the recuperation and rehabilitation of Australian soldiers during WWI, the story is related from two perspectives - Australian nurse, Sister Cora Barker and Harefield Park House hospital volunteer (extraordinaire), Jessie Chester - and spanning through the five years they cared for the soldiers that passed through their makeshift hospital at Harefield Park House Estate.
December 1914, Harefield Park House was in the possession of Mr Charles Billyard Leake, who owned extensive sheep farms in Australia. Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, he offered his house and estate to the Australian Government as a convalescent hospital for the overseas forces. From 1915 until January 1919, the house became home to the No.1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, and the grounds around the mansion were filled with many huts. Originally it was estimated that the house would accommodate fifty soldiers under winter conditions and 150 during spring and summer. At the height of its use it accommodated over 1,000 beds and had a large nursing and ancillary support staff.
One of the other things that stood out for me, apart from the refreshingly different take on a WWI story, was the page count. There is over 600 pages worth of story sitting in between the front and back cover. That's a lot of pages to get to know our two protagonists.
Early 1915, Nurse Cora Barker arrives at Harefield Park House from South Australia. At age thirty-one, Cora is an experienced nurse and eager to serve her country by providing care for men injured in battle. However, nothing has prepared her for the challenges of nursing during wartime. It's here where Cora cements friendships with fellow nurses, Gertie North, Leonora Grady and Fiona Patterson.
‘The four of them, so young in some cases and naïve in others, had believed themselves to be setting out on some kind of heroic adventure in which they would save the world and all the soldiers in it.’
Purman details the daily operation of the hospital as Cora and her fellow nursing staff spend long shifts caring for the wounded men. While often contending with their own physical exhaustion, stages of home sickness, and, for many, emotional distress, the nurses worked with sensitivity and compassion to care for their wounded charges, many of whom had gruesome physical injuries and fragile mental health. For many soldiers, shell shock was very real. The term "shell shock" was coined by the soldiers themselves. Symptoms included fatigue, tremor, confusion, nightmares and impaired sight and hearing. It was often diagnosed when a soldier was unable to function and no obvious cause could be identified.
Running parallel with the subplot belonging to the nurses, is the story of civilian, Jessie Chester. Here, the author explores the effects of war on the civilians of Britain. Jessie works as a seamstress and lives with her widowed mother and brother. Jessie and her mother are invited to help with the setting up of the hospital at Harefield Park. Shocked by the severity of the soldier's injuries, Jessie volunteers to help in any way she can - cleaning, washing, darning and writing letters home for the soldiers who had been blinded by mustard gas or shrapnel.
Both threads include themes of friendship, romance, love, heart ache, sadness and joy. Based on the true stories of real life experiences of the Australian women who served at Harefield Hospital in Middlesex, England, The Nurses' War is a book worth adding to your reading collection.
March 28, 2022
I am not sure where to start with this one, firstly I loved it so much, it is so beautifully written as I have become used to in Victoria Purman’s stories, this one is heartfelt, heartbreaking, emotional and so very moving. This one tells the story from a nurse’s point of view of World War 1. It is 1915 and Sister Cora Barker has travelled to Harefield House, England to help set up a hospital to care for the Australian Diggers the estate has been donated by ex-pat Aussies, and it is a must read story.
Cora, Gertie, Lenora and Fiona are the first nurses to arrive and with the help of Win and Jessie Chester form the village they work hard and get it prepared for the first casualties to arrive never dreaming that the number would be so many. Cora puts her heart and soul into caring for these diggers there are laughs along the way and so much heart break as well, the men arrive in such dreadful conditions and it is the job of Cora and the other nurses and doctors to do what they can to get these men back on their feet to either return home or back to the war front.
Jessie becomes a volunteer at the hospital and becomes a very welcome sight, her caring ways shine through and make many of the men smile, especially Private Bert Mott, as Bert recuperates Jessie and he get closer when he returns to the front Jessie writes every day and their love grows stronger. Cora is getting closer to one of the doctors Captain William Kent they have a special bond they can talk easily with each other something that is so badly needed in these times, love seems to be growing but war goes on and the injuries are terrible, times are getting harder for Cora and the staff at Harefield.
This story is based on real history and it shows courage, strength and compassion in the face of such pain and hurt and what the nurses went through all those years ago it shows love, friendship, sacrifice and the power to not give up not matter how exhausted you are, I loved getting to know Cora and Jessie their stories had me sobbing through this book, I am still crying while writing this review because their stories have left a big mark on me, this story is going to stay with me for a long time to come. I highly recommend this book, Victoria Purman this is a brilliant story, your best yet and I thank you for telling the Nurses’ story.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy to read and review
Cora, Gertie, Lenora and Fiona are the first nurses to arrive and with the help of Win and Jessie Chester form the village they work hard and get it prepared for the first casualties to arrive never dreaming that the number would be so many. Cora puts her heart and soul into caring for these diggers there are laughs along the way and so much heart break as well, the men arrive in such dreadful conditions and it is the job of Cora and the other nurses and doctors to do what they can to get these men back on their feet to either return home or back to the war front.
Jessie becomes a volunteer at the hospital and becomes a very welcome sight, her caring ways shine through and make many of the men smile, especially Private Bert Mott, as Bert recuperates Jessie and he get closer when he returns to the front Jessie writes every day and their love grows stronger. Cora is getting closer to one of the doctors Captain William Kent they have a special bond they can talk easily with each other something that is so badly needed in these times, love seems to be growing but war goes on and the injuries are terrible, times are getting harder for Cora and the staff at Harefield.
This story is based on real history and it shows courage, strength and compassion in the face of such pain and hurt and what the nurses went through all those years ago it shows love, friendship, sacrifice and the power to not give up not matter how exhausted you are, I loved getting to know Cora and Jessie their stories had me sobbing through this book, I am still crying while writing this review because their stories have left a big mark on me, this story is going to stay with me for a long time to come. I highly recommend this book, Victoria Purman this is a brilliant story, your best yet and I thank you for telling the Nurses’ story.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy to read and review
January 6, 2026
At just over 600 pages this is certainly a long novel but well worth the read. It begins in 1915 with the set-up of the first Australian hospital for soldiers in England. The nurses are determined to make it a place where Australian soldiers can feel a little piece of home. What follows is the depiction of the mental strength everyone must have as the war rages on for years and the injured soldiers pour in. The nurses and all hospital staff try to help these men heal not just physically but also emotionally. The story is presented from two main point-of-views: Australian nurse Clara and local English girl Jessie. The storyline includes the brutality of injuries the soldiers suffered and covers the unimaginable notifications to loved ones of soldiers being killed in action. It is certainly a bittersweet read and it is clear the author did a lot of research.
Overall: a great war-era historical fiction novel.
Overall: a great war-era historical fiction novel.
May 10, 2022
It is the beginning of World War I, and Cora is leaving her home in South Australia with a group of other Australian Nurses, whereby they are travelling to England to work as a Nurse to help set up an Australian Hospital not too far from the city of London. The beautiful home which has been donated to the Australian Army, from a wealthy Australian family that had migrated to the UK, is like nothing Cora has ever seen.
At first it is an adventure for Cora, travelling overseas, assisting in the set up of a new hospital in a beautiful English Manor House, with luscious gardens and lakes.
Cora meets new friends, and forms life time friendships with the other Nurses and also the English volunteers.
Jessie is a local, and Jessie and her Mum have their own sewing business. Jessie and her Mum, Win help clean and set up the hospital also. Jessie ends up volunteering at the hospital, in whatever free time she can find inbetween sewing dresses and caring for her Mother and Brother.
Jessie and Cora's stories are both stories of romance, love heart ache and sadness.
I have read many WWI novels, but the Nurses War by Victoria Purman would have to the absolute best so far. Victoria puts a lot of research into her novels, and the history that you learn whilst reading such a beautiful novel like this is inspiring. I have learnt a lot about Australia and the sacrifices our Anzacs made for the future of Australia whilst reading this novel.
Don't try and rush this book, sit down read it slowly and truly relax, enjoy and let the story sink in. There will be tears, but you will experience joy and relief also.
I am so in love with this book, that I will be buying multiple copies when it is published, a copy for my personal library as long as a couple more for gifts.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for my advanced copy for my honest review. I rate this novel 5 stars.
Please visit my blog and follow to see all of my past and future book reviews.
https://www.facebook.com/Kylies-Book-...
At first it is an adventure for Cora, travelling overseas, assisting in the set up of a new hospital in a beautiful English Manor House, with luscious gardens and lakes.
Cora meets new friends, and forms life time friendships with the other Nurses and also the English volunteers.
Jessie is a local, and Jessie and her Mum have their own sewing business. Jessie and her Mum, Win help clean and set up the hospital also. Jessie ends up volunteering at the hospital, in whatever free time she can find inbetween sewing dresses and caring for her Mother and Brother.
Jessie and Cora's stories are both stories of romance, love heart ache and sadness.
I have read many WWI novels, but the Nurses War by Victoria Purman would have to the absolute best so far. Victoria puts a lot of research into her novels, and the history that you learn whilst reading such a beautiful novel like this is inspiring. I have learnt a lot about Australia and the sacrifices our Anzacs made for the future of Australia whilst reading this novel.
Don't try and rush this book, sit down read it slowly and truly relax, enjoy and let the story sink in. There will be tears, but you will experience joy and relief also.
I am so in love with this book, that I will be buying multiple copies when it is published, a copy for my personal library as long as a couple more for gifts.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for my advanced copy for my honest review. I rate this novel 5 stars.
Please visit my blog and follow to see all of my past and future book reviews.
https://www.facebook.com/Kylies-Book-...
May 23, 2022
I love reading stories about both WWI & WWII. Stories set during the battles from a soldier's point of view, those from a civilian's point of view and also those from front line workers, the doctors and nurses.
As the title depicts The Nurses' War is about Australian nurses who enlisted during WWI and travelled to England to treat and care for the Australian soldiers in a makeshift Australian hospital.
The Nurses' War is based on the true stories of real life experiences of the Australian women who served at Harefield Hospital in Middlesex, England.
Purman writes of the anticipation and camaraderie of the nurses as the hospital prepares for its first patients and the anguish and fatigue as the wounded and maimed ariive day after day for years.
The Nurses' War is a story of women breaking the mold for their time and choosing career over marriage.
Told in the dual narrative of Cora, an Australian nurse who leaves her family to work in England, and Jessie, a young local girl living in the small country village of Harefield. Through Jessie we learn how everyday citizens were affected by the war and the changing face of society in work and fashion.
Purman writes about how the men coped with their injuries and the lose of their mates. The Nurses' War is a story filled with emotion, pride and a touch of Aussie larrickinism. For me however the book was about 150 pages too long. I am not a lover of big books!
The added romance interests for the two protagonists added a heart-warming element to the story.
The Nurses' War is a story of love, grief and the sacrifices everyone made during the war.
*I received my copy from the publisher.
As the title depicts The Nurses' War is about Australian nurses who enlisted during WWI and travelled to England to treat and care for the Australian soldiers in a makeshift Australian hospital.
The Nurses' War is based on the true stories of real life experiences of the Australian women who served at Harefield Hospital in Middlesex, England.
Purman writes of the anticipation and camaraderie of the nurses as the hospital prepares for its first patients and the anguish and fatigue as the wounded and maimed ariive day after day for years.
The Nurses' War is a story of women breaking the mold for their time and choosing career over marriage.
Told in the dual narrative of Cora, an Australian nurse who leaves her family to work in England, and Jessie, a young local girl living in the small country village of Harefield. Through Jessie we learn how everyday citizens were affected by the war and the changing face of society in work and fashion.
Purman writes about how the men coped with their injuries and the lose of their mates. The Nurses' War is a story filled with emotion, pride and a touch of Aussie larrickinism. For me however the book was about 150 pages too long. I am not a lover of big books!
The added romance interests for the two protagonists added a heart-warming element to the story.
The Nurses' War is a story of love, grief and the sacrifices everyone made during the war.
*I received my copy from the publisher.
April 10, 2022
⭐️5 Stars⭐️
The Nurses' War by Victoria Purman is an incredible read and is based on the real life experiences of Australian nurses in WWI. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend. I believe it’s Purman’s best yet!
This haunting story certainly puts it all out there! The tragedy and devastation the diggers and medical staff endured during World War I is harrowing and while the events are confronting it’s a remarkably beautifully written story.
Sister Cora Barker from South Australia and other Australian nurses embark on a voyage to England where they will establish a makeshift convalescent hospital for our Australian diggers. Harefield Park is a beautiful country estate donated by the Billyard-Leake family for the duration of the war. This is where the injured Australian Soldiers will be sent to recuperate before they are sent off either (depending on their injuries) on the long voyage home to Australia or back to their unit on the battlefields in Europe.
Once the Australian hospital is set up it is not long before the casualties start pouring in from Turkey. There’s more broken and maimed bodies than they expected and it’s overwhelming.
Further makeshift hospital wards are established in the gardens, there seems no end to the war and the challenges of war nursing.
Jessie A young English seamstress from the village becomes a volunteer at the hospital where she tends to the patients and forms a bond with recuperating Private Bert Mott. When Bert returns to the battlefields Jessie writes everyday and their relationship blossoms into something special. Will Bert survive?
An absolutely heart wrenching and inspiring story of love, sacrifice, friendship, loss and tragedy told from the view of two women Cora & Jessie. Meticulously researched, warm characters and a mesmerising insight to the brave Australians that gave so much for our freedom.
Publication Date 30 March 2022
Publisher Harlequin Australia
Thank you so much Harlequin Australia for sending me a copy of the book
The Nurses' War by Victoria Purman is an incredible read and is based on the real life experiences of Australian nurses in WWI. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend. I believe it’s Purman’s best yet!
This haunting story certainly puts it all out there! The tragedy and devastation the diggers and medical staff endured during World War I is harrowing and while the events are confronting it’s a remarkably beautifully written story.
Sister Cora Barker from South Australia and other Australian nurses embark on a voyage to England where they will establish a makeshift convalescent hospital for our Australian diggers. Harefield Park is a beautiful country estate donated by the Billyard-Leake family for the duration of the war. This is where the injured Australian Soldiers will be sent to recuperate before they are sent off either (depending on their injuries) on the long voyage home to Australia or back to their unit on the battlefields in Europe.
Once the Australian hospital is set up it is not long before the casualties start pouring in from Turkey. There’s more broken and maimed bodies than they expected and it’s overwhelming.
Further makeshift hospital wards are established in the gardens, there seems no end to the war and the challenges of war nursing.
Jessie A young English seamstress from the village becomes a volunteer at the hospital where she tends to the patients and forms a bond with recuperating Private Bert Mott. When Bert returns to the battlefields Jessie writes everyday and their relationship blossoms into something special. Will Bert survive?
An absolutely heart wrenching and inspiring story of love, sacrifice, friendship, loss and tragedy told from the view of two women Cora & Jessie. Meticulously researched, warm characters and a mesmerising insight to the brave Australians that gave so much for our freedom.
Publication Date 30 March 2022
Publisher Harlequin Australia
Thank you so much Harlequin Australia for sending me a copy of the book
March 22, 2022
4.5★s
“The war had changed the way everyone thought of what was proper and normal. She had held the hands of more soldiers than she could count. She had flirted with her boys in the full knowledge that she meant nothing by it, and they took nothing from it but, for those few moments, they believed themselves to be men again, which doubt and injury and cruel circumstance had robbed from them.”
The Nurses’ War is the eleventh novel by best-selling Australian author, Victoria Purman. In early 1915, thirty-one-year-old nurse Cora Barker joins three other nurses on a ship to England. Single, and with fourteen years’ experience, she has decided to do her bit for the war effort. The nurses are headed for Middlesex, to the village of Harefield, where an Australian heiress and her family have offered up their estate as a hospital for injured Australian Army recruits.
Cora, Gertie, Leonora and Fiona, under the watchful eye of Matron Ethel Gray, are there at the start to convert the mansion and grounds into the Number One Australian Auxiliary Hospital AIF, which is intended to accommodate sixty men in winter and one hundred and fifty in summer. They are initially helped by volunteers Jessie Chester and her mother, Win, seamstresses from the village; later doctors, porters and administrative staff join the team.
And then the patients arrive, men from the battles at Gallipoli and, later, Western European theatres of war, men who need to be repaired for return to fighting, or repatriation, if no longer fit to fight. Despite their experience in Australian hospitals, none of the nurses is psychologically prepared for the sorts of injuries that present.
The numbers they are expected to treat quickly expand well beyond the predicted, ensuring that they have virtually no downtime, and are soon plagued by exhaustion, insomnia and, with no respite, Nurses’ Back.
With more medical staff, they are eventually treating over a thousand men at a time, with only a very small number of patients lost, but the relentless pace means that the soldiers are not the only ones with battle fatigue and what will later be called post-traumatic stress. “War weary. Battle scarred. Exhausted in both mind and body.”
Told through the twin narratives of Cora and Jessie, the novel gives the perspective of a visitor and a local; supplementing this is correspondence between Cora and her family in South Australia, between Jessie and her Australian fiancé serving in France and between Jessie and Army officialdom.
The story takes place over some six years and moves at a fairly sedate pace that allows the reader to slowly form attachments to the main characters, to understand and empathise with what they experience and endure: friendship, romance, grief and loss.
When she includes village gossip and women stepping into the roles normally reserved for men, Purman illustrates the stark differences between the relaxed attitude of the Australians and their more conservative British hosts.
Her depiction of sexual, class and racial discrimination feels authentic and the depth of Purman’s research is apparent on every page. With liberal use of popular culture references, Purman easily conveys both the era and the setting in this moving and interesting piece of historical fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harlequin Australia.
“The war had changed the way everyone thought of what was proper and normal. She had held the hands of more soldiers than she could count. She had flirted with her boys in the full knowledge that she meant nothing by it, and they took nothing from it but, for those few moments, they believed themselves to be men again, which doubt and injury and cruel circumstance had robbed from them.”
The Nurses’ War is the eleventh novel by best-selling Australian author, Victoria Purman. In early 1915, thirty-one-year-old nurse Cora Barker joins three other nurses on a ship to England. Single, and with fourteen years’ experience, she has decided to do her bit for the war effort. The nurses are headed for Middlesex, to the village of Harefield, where an Australian heiress and her family have offered up their estate as a hospital for injured Australian Army recruits.
Cora, Gertie, Leonora and Fiona, under the watchful eye of Matron Ethel Gray, are there at the start to convert the mansion and grounds into the Number One Australian Auxiliary Hospital AIF, which is intended to accommodate sixty men in winter and one hundred and fifty in summer. They are initially helped by volunteers Jessie Chester and her mother, Win, seamstresses from the village; later doctors, porters and administrative staff join the team.
And then the patients arrive, men from the battles at Gallipoli and, later, Western European theatres of war, men who need to be repaired for return to fighting, or repatriation, if no longer fit to fight. Despite their experience in Australian hospitals, none of the nurses is psychologically prepared for the sorts of injuries that present.
The numbers they are expected to treat quickly expand well beyond the predicted, ensuring that they have virtually no downtime, and are soon plagued by exhaustion, insomnia and, with no respite, Nurses’ Back.
With more medical staff, they are eventually treating over a thousand men at a time, with only a very small number of patients lost, but the relentless pace means that the soldiers are not the only ones with battle fatigue and what will later be called post-traumatic stress. “War weary. Battle scarred. Exhausted in both mind and body.”
Told through the twin narratives of Cora and Jessie, the novel gives the perspective of a visitor and a local; supplementing this is correspondence between Cora and her family in South Australia, between Jessie and her Australian fiancé serving in France and between Jessie and Army officialdom.
The story takes place over some six years and moves at a fairly sedate pace that allows the reader to slowly form attachments to the main characters, to understand and empathise with what they experience and endure: friendship, romance, grief and loss.
When she includes village gossip and women stepping into the roles normally reserved for men, Purman illustrates the stark differences between the relaxed attitude of the Australians and their more conservative British hosts.
Her depiction of sexual, class and racial discrimination feels authentic and the depth of Purman’s research is apparent on every page. With liberal use of popular culture references, Purman easily conveys both the era and the setting in this moving and interesting piece of historical fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harlequin Australia.
December 21, 2022
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
‘The four of them, so young in some cases and naïve in others, had believed themselves to be setting out on some kind of heroic adventure in which they would save the world and all the soldiers in it.’
Historical fiction seamstress Victoria Purman makes a welcome return thanks to her dazzling new timepiece, The Nurses’ War. Full of history, emotion, heartbreak and meaning, The Nurses’ War is a novel I highly recommend.
Victoria Purman’s The Nurses’ War is one of my own hotly anticipated releases of 2022. March 2022 couldn’t come quick enough for me and it pained me to save this one until the school holiday period. As The Nurses’ War sits in at over five hundred pages, I knew it was best for me to allocate an extended period of time to appreciate this one. It took me a lot longer than I expected to get through The Nurses’ War. Victoria Purman’s latest is a full bodied and absorbing title. With so many facts, information, experiences and details, you will want to savour this moving historical composition.
I really enjoyed the shared experiences of Sister Cora Barker and volunteer village lass Jessie. I liked how Purman compared and contrasted these two female figures, while at the same time emphasising this story as a tribute to the efforts of the nursing staff of World War I. Enlightening, revealing, surprising, realistic and considered, I think Purman did a great job with this storyline. I was inspired to do a little more research on Harefield Hospital, the key stage setting of The Nurses’ War. I was also keen to look more into the experiences of Australian nurses sent to serve in British hospitals such as Harefield in World War I. The history is this novel is fantastic and that is thanks to Victoria Purman’s undertakings.
With themes of loss, fear, sorrow, grief, sadness, separation, endurance, personal goals, health care, faith, mateship and love, The Nurses’ War concerns itself with the hardworking women who fought a different war to the men on the battlefields.
*I wish to thank Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.
‘The four of them, so young in some cases and naïve in others, had believed themselves to be setting out on some kind of heroic adventure in which they would save the world and all the soldiers in it.’
Historical fiction seamstress Victoria Purman makes a welcome return thanks to her dazzling new timepiece, The Nurses’ War. Full of history, emotion, heartbreak and meaning, The Nurses’ War is a novel I highly recommend.
Victoria Purman’s The Nurses’ War is one of my own hotly anticipated releases of 2022. March 2022 couldn’t come quick enough for me and it pained me to save this one until the school holiday period. As The Nurses’ War sits in at over five hundred pages, I knew it was best for me to allocate an extended period of time to appreciate this one. It took me a lot longer than I expected to get through The Nurses’ War. Victoria Purman’s latest is a full bodied and absorbing title. With so many facts, information, experiences and details, you will want to savour this moving historical composition.
I really enjoyed the shared experiences of Sister Cora Barker and volunteer village lass Jessie. I liked how Purman compared and contrasted these two female figures, while at the same time emphasising this story as a tribute to the efforts of the nursing staff of World War I. Enlightening, revealing, surprising, realistic and considered, I think Purman did a great job with this storyline. I was inspired to do a little more research on Harefield Hospital, the key stage setting of The Nurses’ War. I was also keen to look more into the experiences of Australian nurses sent to serve in British hospitals such as Harefield in World War I. The history is this novel is fantastic and that is thanks to Victoria Purman’s undertakings.
With themes of loss, fear, sorrow, grief, sadness, separation, endurance, personal goals, health care, faith, mateship and love, The Nurses’ War concerns itself with the hardworking women who fought a different war to the men on the battlefields.
*I wish to thank Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.
March 27, 2022
I enjoy a bit of war fiction now and then especially when featuring courageous women who defies conventions to serve during the war. I've also read most of Purman's novels and have enjoyed most of them. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one as much. In fact, I found it a bit boring though I'm not sure whether it's just my terrible mood...
I love the characters in his novel. Both protagonists, Cora and Jessie, are remarkable women who grew and matured throughout all terribly heartbreaking events they went through and witnessed as they dedicated their time to this Australian hospital. I love all the secondary characters too from the happy-go-lucky Private Bert Mott to faithful Fiona. BUT they seem to just fade away... I mean what happened to Leonora and Fiona (nurse colleagues of Cora)? Surely letters were exchanged?!
Reading The Nurses' War felt like I was reading some cross-sections of a nurse's life during WWI with a bit of variety with a local girl's life who got involved in caring for these soldiers. While I appreciate to "seeing" what it was like for them, I just felt the structure of the book to be somewhat untidy. The story didn't flow for me which dulled my interest in reading. The ending was also a bit flat and rushed. As I enjoyed her previous books, this was a bit disappointing.
My thanks to Harlequin Australia for this paperback copy of book in exchange of my honest thoughts
I love the characters in his novel. Both protagonists, Cora and Jessie, are remarkable women who grew and matured throughout all terribly heartbreaking events they went through and witnessed as they dedicated their time to this Australian hospital. I love all the secondary characters too from the happy-go-lucky Private Bert Mott to faithful Fiona. BUT they seem to just fade away... I mean what happened to Leonora and Fiona (nurse colleagues of Cora)? Surely letters were exchanged?!
Reading The Nurses' War felt like I was reading some cross-sections of a nurse's life during WWI with a bit of variety with a local girl's life who got involved in caring for these soldiers. While I appreciate to "seeing" what it was like for them, I just felt the structure of the book to be somewhat untidy. The story didn't flow for me which dulled my interest in reading. The ending was also a bit flat and rushed. As I enjoyed her previous books, this was a bit disappointing.
My thanks to Harlequin Australia for this paperback copy of book in exchange of my honest thoughts
March 23, 2022
Thank you Harlequin for sending us a copy to read and review.
Historical fiction extraordinaire Victoria Purman returns to the hit list with a exceptional story of four nurses and a volunteer who endure love, loss, danger and life during World War One.
Based on real war experience of Australian nurses and their involvement.
It’s 1915 and war rages across the continent.
Sister Cora Barker, an Australian nurse arrives in England to serve her country.
Harefield House has been donated and Cora begins her journey helping the staff to turn it into a hospital.
There she meets three other like minded nurses and the foursome form a bond.
Between a hectic work load, friendships become strong and what they witness is horrendous but they soldier on.
Love blossoms for some, all miss home but the horrors of battle come first.
Seamstress Jessie Chester, a volunteer joins their companion pool and has her own encounters.
They all must confront their fears and death while love and friendship beats it all.
Continuing her reign as a leader in this genre, Victoria has given history fans a full, fastidious researched and detailed narrative during a tumultuous period.
Bringing to life a time that’s little known about.
It’s quite the epic read, over 580 pages, my arms are feeling it and it’s big in volume as well as story and emotion throughout.
Victoria handles many topics with compassion and has this great ability to bring characters to life right in front of you.
You will need to set quite a bit of time aside for reading but once you do you will enter the gates of historical fiction bliss.
Historical fiction extraordinaire Victoria Purman returns to the hit list with a exceptional story of four nurses and a volunteer who endure love, loss, danger and life during World War One.
Based on real war experience of Australian nurses and their involvement.
It’s 1915 and war rages across the continent.
Sister Cora Barker, an Australian nurse arrives in England to serve her country.
Harefield House has been donated and Cora begins her journey helping the staff to turn it into a hospital.
There she meets three other like minded nurses and the foursome form a bond.
Between a hectic work load, friendships become strong and what they witness is horrendous but they soldier on.
Love blossoms for some, all miss home but the horrors of battle come first.
Seamstress Jessie Chester, a volunteer joins their companion pool and has her own encounters.
They all must confront their fears and death while love and friendship beats it all.
Continuing her reign as a leader in this genre, Victoria has given history fans a full, fastidious researched and detailed narrative during a tumultuous period.
Bringing to life a time that’s little known about.
It’s quite the epic read, over 580 pages, my arms are feeling it and it’s big in volume as well as story and emotion throughout.
Victoria handles many topics with compassion and has this great ability to bring characters to life right in front of you.
You will need to set quite a bit of time aside for reading but once you do you will enter the gates of historical fiction bliss.
August 18, 2022
I have enjoyed all of Victoria Purman's books and this one was also good. Fascinating topic and well researched. Maybe a bit long.
April 20, 2022
Based on actual historical events and people, this novel is a powerful and moving tribute to the Australian nurses, doctors, allied health workers and civilian volunteers - British too - who did all they could for the men and women who survived the horrors of the WWI battlefields.
When Australian nurse, Sister Cora Baker, has the opportunity to serve her country at a newly established hospital in Middlesex England in a little village called Harefield in 1915, she doesn’t hesitate. Harefield House, donated to the Australian army by some generous expatriates so it can be turned into a hospital to care for wounded Australian soldiers, Cora works with other Aussie medical staff to establish and transform the grand house.
Not knowing quite what to expect, as the war rages on and the casualty and death count grow, Harefield House is overwhelmed and all too soon, Cora and the other nurses and doctors are working around the clock, exhausted but determined to do their duty. When they call for volunteers, a local, young seamstress, Jessica Chester steps up.
It’s while working at the hospital that she meets Private Bert Mott, a recuperating soldier who is destined, like so many others they care for, to be returned to the front.
As endless stream of injured and dying enter and leave the care of the dedicated nurses and doctors, it’s apparent the nurses are fighting their own kind of war, one defined by bandages, pain relief, and an abundance of loving care. But is it enough when despair, fatigue and a crushing sense of failure abide with them as well?
The Nurses’ War is an amazing story of a little-known chapter in Australian, British and war history. It doesn't steer away from portraying the brutal realities of the physical, psychological and emotional wounds inflicted upon the soldiers, the courage of those at the front, but also that of those who fought a silent, different and harsh battle behind the lines - one of healing, resilience and hope.
Heart-achingly raw yet filled with the beauty of the human spirit, this is an important and ultimately triumphant story of Australia's part in the Great War and what happened in the aftermath – when peace was finally reached and an unforeseen enemy arose to fell yet more. The novel explores love, loss, incredible bravery, fortitude, frustration, failure and above all, hope. It shows that heroes wear all kinds of faces and uniforms.
The Nurses' War is a triumph that will linger in my heart and soul a long time. The Authors Notes at the end are wonderful as well. Here, Victoria not only reveals the real history behind the novel and how these people are commemorated even to this day, but a very personal link to the story as well. So incredibly moving.
When Australian nurse, Sister Cora Baker, has the opportunity to serve her country at a newly established hospital in Middlesex England in a little village called Harefield in 1915, she doesn’t hesitate. Harefield House, donated to the Australian army by some generous expatriates so it can be turned into a hospital to care for wounded Australian soldiers, Cora works with other Aussie medical staff to establish and transform the grand house.
Not knowing quite what to expect, as the war rages on and the casualty and death count grow, Harefield House is overwhelmed and all too soon, Cora and the other nurses and doctors are working around the clock, exhausted but determined to do their duty. When they call for volunteers, a local, young seamstress, Jessica Chester steps up.
It’s while working at the hospital that she meets Private Bert Mott, a recuperating soldier who is destined, like so many others they care for, to be returned to the front.
As endless stream of injured and dying enter and leave the care of the dedicated nurses and doctors, it’s apparent the nurses are fighting their own kind of war, one defined by bandages, pain relief, and an abundance of loving care. But is it enough when despair, fatigue and a crushing sense of failure abide with them as well?
The Nurses’ War is an amazing story of a little-known chapter in Australian, British and war history. It doesn't steer away from portraying the brutal realities of the physical, psychological and emotional wounds inflicted upon the soldiers, the courage of those at the front, but also that of those who fought a silent, different and harsh battle behind the lines - one of healing, resilience and hope.
Heart-achingly raw yet filled with the beauty of the human spirit, this is an important and ultimately triumphant story of Australia's part in the Great War and what happened in the aftermath – when peace was finally reached and an unforeseen enemy arose to fell yet more. The novel explores love, loss, incredible bravery, fortitude, frustration, failure and above all, hope. It shows that heroes wear all kinds of faces and uniforms.
The Nurses' War is a triumph that will linger in my heart and soul a long time. The Authors Notes at the end are wonderful as well. Here, Victoria not only reveals the real history behind the novel and how these people are commemorated even to this day, but a very personal link to the story as well. So incredibly moving.
May 11, 2022
Many thanks to Harlequin for a review copy of this.
This book has firmly lodged itself in my heart and does great justice in capturing such a traumatic time in history.
I am emotionally exhausted at the end of this book and quite stunned by how much I loved it.
The story focuses on Cora and Jessie, both involved in aiding the recovery of Australian soldiers in England. And the book sweeps from the beginning of WWI in 1914 right through to the end and then some.
I don't think I've ever read historical fiction that so beautifully ties together such key themes - the agonies of war, the plight of feminism, the torments of love.
The book is perfectly poignant in the way it captures these things and presents ideas and emotions to the reader in a way that resonates and really has you feeling it all.
This brought me to tears more than any book has in a long time - I thought the characters were wonderful and so well developed. I found them likeable and painfully relatable and realistic. It's the kind of book that makes it easy for you to imagine yourself in their shoes. I so hope this is adapted for screen one day, it would be marvellous.
And most of all, there's a raw realness to this story where it doesn't just feel like a sugar coated romance encased in the convenient action of war. No, this feels like an honest imagining of serving as a nurse through both WWI and the Spanish Flu. The lows are just as proudly there as a highs.
A must-read for historical fiction lovers.
This book has firmly lodged itself in my heart and does great justice in capturing such a traumatic time in history.
I am emotionally exhausted at the end of this book and quite stunned by how much I loved it.
The story focuses on Cora and Jessie, both involved in aiding the recovery of Australian soldiers in England. And the book sweeps from the beginning of WWI in 1914 right through to the end and then some.
I don't think I've ever read historical fiction that so beautifully ties together such key themes - the agonies of war, the plight of feminism, the torments of love.
The book is perfectly poignant in the way it captures these things and presents ideas and emotions to the reader in a way that resonates and really has you feeling it all.
This brought me to tears more than any book has in a long time - I thought the characters were wonderful and so well developed. I found them likeable and painfully relatable and realistic. It's the kind of book that makes it easy for you to imagine yourself in their shoes. I so hope this is adapted for screen one day, it would be marvellous.
And most of all, there's a raw realness to this story where it doesn't just feel like a sugar coated romance encased in the convenient action of war. No, this feels like an honest imagining of serving as a nurse through both WWI and the Spanish Flu. The lows are just as proudly there as a highs.
A must-read for historical fiction lovers.
March 11, 2022
It is not only those on the front line that win a war.
The Nurses' War gives us a look at what those behind the scenes, particularly nurses go through. It it poignant, heartbreaking, yet full of hope.
So much sacrifice by these nurses, so much pain.
Beautifully written, and will keep you thinking.
The Nurses' War gives us a look at what those behind the scenes, particularly nurses go through. It it poignant, heartbreaking, yet full of hope.
So much sacrifice by these nurses, so much pain.
Beautifully written, and will keep you thinking.
April 28, 2022
Set in the first Australian Auxiliary Hospital established in Britain for the recuperation and rehabilitation for Australian soldiers during WWI, The Nurses’ War by Victoria Purman is an emotional story of service and sacrifice, based on true events.
In 1915, Nurse Cora Barker arrives from South Australia to staff a sixty-bed Australian convalescent hospital at Harefield Park, a country estate offered by Australian heiress and her husband for military use, on the outskirts of London. At age thirty-one Cora is an experienced nurse, eager to serve her country and provide care for the men injured in battle, but nothing has prepared her for the challenges of wartime nursing.
Within days of its opening on June 1st, the hospital was forced to expand its services for soldiers evacuated from the battlefields of Gallipoli, France and Serbia. By mid month the grounds of Harefield Park were home to more than a dozen hastily erected wards to accommodate 360 patients, barely a year later it housed over thousand, while thousands more had passed through its doors, having been discharged from duty due to injury or disease, or recovered and sent back to rejoin the fighting. With sensitivity and compassion, Purman details the daily operation of the hospital as Cora and her fellow nursing staff spend long shifts caring for men, many with gruesome physical injuries and fragile mental health, while contending with their own exhaustion, home sickness, and emotional distress. The determination of the nurses to do everything they can for ‘their boys’ is inspiring, and I loved learning about the ordinary, and extraordinary, work and achievements of the Number 1 AAH and its staff, thanks to Purman’s meticulous research. Three of my four great grandfathers served in the Australian forces during WWI and may well have passed through the hospital. (I’d be interested to know if a patient list exists, I couldn’t find one with a cursory search.)
It’s easy to feel for Cora as the war that was expected to be ‘over by Christmas’ drags on. Though she has support from her fellow nurses, Leonora, Gertie and Fiona, no one could truly be prepared for what was to come, and Purman explores how the Cora was changed by her experiences. It’s a subtle process as Cora gains a clearer understanding of the human costs of war, and lets go of some of the social strictures she was raised with. I really liked Cora’s unexpected relationship with surgeon Captain William Kent, and the support they were able to offer each other.
Introducing the perspective of Jessie Chester allows Purman to explore the effects of the war on the civilians of Britain. A young local seamstress, Jessie is a sweet character who lives with her widowed mother and palsied brother. I thought the development of her character was very well done, as the establishment of the Harefield Hospital brings an unexpected opportunity for romance, and a change of career.
I did feel the pacing was a little off, a casualty in part of the nearly five year timeline I think, and I felt there was some instances of repetition, however these are very minor quibbles that didn’t detract from my satisfaction with the story overall.
I found The Nurses’ War to be a moving, thoughtful and absorbing tribute to the women who served with courage and compassion.
In 1915, Nurse Cora Barker arrives from South Australia to staff a sixty-bed Australian convalescent hospital at Harefield Park, a country estate offered by Australian heiress and her husband for military use, on the outskirts of London. At age thirty-one Cora is an experienced nurse, eager to serve her country and provide care for the men injured in battle, but nothing has prepared her for the challenges of wartime nursing.
Within days of its opening on June 1st, the hospital was forced to expand its services for soldiers evacuated from the battlefields of Gallipoli, France and Serbia. By mid month the grounds of Harefield Park were home to more than a dozen hastily erected wards to accommodate 360 patients, barely a year later it housed over thousand, while thousands more had passed through its doors, having been discharged from duty due to injury or disease, or recovered and sent back to rejoin the fighting. With sensitivity and compassion, Purman details the daily operation of the hospital as Cora and her fellow nursing staff spend long shifts caring for men, many with gruesome physical injuries and fragile mental health, while contending with their own exhaustion, home sickness, and emotional distress. The determination of the nurses to do everything they can for ‘their boys’ is inspiring, and I loved learning about the ordinary, and extraordinary, work and achievements of the Number 1 AAH and its staff, thanks to Purman’s meticulous research. Three of my four great grandfathers served in the Australian forces during WWI and may well have passed through the hospital. (I’d be interested to know if a patient list exists, I couldn’t find one with a cursory search.)
It’s easy to feel for Cora as the war that was expected to be ‘over by Christmas’ drags on. Though she has support from her fellow nurses, Leonora, Gertie and Fiona, no one could truly be prepared for what was to come, and Purman explores how the Cora was changed by her experiences. It’s a subtle process as Cora gains a clearer understanding of the human costs of war, and lets go of some of the social strictures she was raised with. I really liked Cora’s unexpected relationship with surgeon Captain William Kent, and the support they were able to offer each other.
Introducing the perspective of Jessie Chester allows Purman to explore the effects of the war on the civilians of Britain. A young local seamstress, Jessie is a sweet character who lives with her widowed mother and palsied brother. I thought the development of her character was very well done, as the establishment of the Harefield Hospital brings an unexpected opportunity for romance, and a change of career.
I did feel the pacing was a little off, a casualty in part of the nearly five year timeline I think, and I felt there was some instances of repetition, however these are very minor quibbles that didn’t detract from my satisfaction with the story overall.
I found The Nurses’ War to be a moving, thoughtful and absorbing tribute to the women who served with courage and compassion.
March 1, 2022
The Nurses' War is a strong and unflinching novel. It's a compelling but also heartbreaking read.
Read
July 8, 2023Set predominantly in the UK, we follow Cora, a nurse, and Jessie, a volunteer, as they traverse the harrowing fallout from WW1, their friendships, their loves.
May 24, 2023
The Nurses’ War might appear to be just another novel to add to the Historical Fiction, Wartime genre which has taken off over the last couple of years but it’s truly a masterpiece, there is tragedy, there is first love, there is disability representation, and female friendship.
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Read my full review
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January 6, 2023
This book was wonderful and extremely frustrating in equal parts. Whilst the storyline, detailed research and complex character building rendered this novel a highly enjoyable and enthralling read, the abysmal editing did a great disservice to the novel. There were a multitude of errors ranging from small punctuation mistakes to spelling errors and missed capitalisations which read as simply sloppy, up to complete errors in the names of characters, such as mistakenly referring to Jessie as Cora on page 255. A number of small details were wrong which were irritating to read, such as a date of a key plot point on page 381 being written as a date in the future of the date of the chapter - which is literally impossible. This great novel was overshadowed by these disappointing mistakes and many, many more, and was overall tarnished as a result. This is not unique to "The Nurses' War", as I have previously read another Victoria Purman novel "The Land Girls" which was peppered with the same irritating mistakes and flat-out errors. The novel itself was a beautiful blend of historical fact and fiction, and did justice to the plight of Australian war heroes in WWI and particularly the plight of women of all nationalities during the war period. The novel would have garnered a higher rating, however, the blatant errors were infuriating and careless which resulted in the docking of stars.
March 7, 2022
'She had come to England to do a job and it was about to begin.’
In 1915, Cora Barker leaves her home in South Australia and travels with a group of other Australian nurses to establish a hospital for wounded Australian soldiers near London. The Great War is raging, and the number of Australian casualties continues to grow. At Harefield House, donated for use by the Australian Imperial Forces by its expatriate Australian owners, Cora and her colleagues Gertie, Leonora, and Fiona, transform the house into a hospital. The nurses are helped by local villagers, including Jessie Chester and her mother Win who are local seamstresses.
And as wounded soldiers continue to flood into the hospital from the battlefields of France and Belgium, Jessie volunteers at the hospital to support the patients and help the nurses. Jessie meets Private Bert Mott, a recovering soldier who will return to the front.
Everyone hopes for a short war, but the war drags on. Thousands of young soldiers are killed or maimed. The nurses are fighting both death and despair, struggling to maintain professional composure as they do the best they can for their patients. The soldiers, injured as they fight, are looked after by nurses who fight to save them.
There is romance in this story too, for some, and heartbreak. Not all stories have happy endings.
Ms Purman brings the period of the Great War to life: her nurses represent a range of different Australian backgrounds, as do the soldiers whom we mostly know through their injuries. The main characters are Cora and Jessie, showing us different aspects of life in a world at war. I became immersed in this novel, thinking of my grandfather and great-uncle, both of whom fought in the Great War and both of whom spent time in hospital in England before being repatriated to Australia in 1917.
Highly recommended.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
In 1915, Cora Barker leaves her home in South Australia and travels with a group of other Australian nurses to establish a hospital for wounded Australian soldiers near London. The Great War is raging, and the number of Australian casualties continues to grow. At Harefield House, donated for use by the Australian Imperial Forces by its expatriate Australian owners, Cora and her colleagues Gertie, Leonora, and Fiona, transform the house into a hospital. The nurses are helped by local villagers, including Jessie Chester and her mother Win who are local seamstresses.
And as wounded soldiers continue to flood into the hospital from the battlefields of France and Belgium, Jessie volunteers at the hospital to support the patients and help the nurses. Jessie meets Private Bert Mott, a recovering soldier who will return to the front.
Everyone hopes for a short war, but the war drags on. Thousands of young soldiers are killed or maimed. The nurses are fighting both death and despair, struggling to maintain professional composure as they do the best they can for their patients. The soldiers, injured as they fight, are looked after by nurses who fight to save them.
There is romance in this story too, for some, and heartbreak. Not all stories have happy endings.
Ms Purman brings the period of the Great War to life: her nurses represent a range of different Australian backgrounds, as do the soldiers whom we mostly know through their injuries. The main characters are Cora and Jessie, showing us different aspects of life in a world at war. I became immersed in this novel, thinking of my grandfather and great-uncle, both of whom fought in the Great War and both of whom spent time in hospital in England before being repatriated to Australia in 1917.
Highly recommended.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
June 18, 2022
Switching between the stories of Cora and Jessie, we follow WWI through the eyes of nurses. Cora has travelled from Adelaide in Australia across to England and as a theatre trained nurse is completely unprepared for the horrors of thousands of men being returned from the front to be stitched up and sent back again.
Jessie is a local seamstress who signs up due to the volume of injuries being treated in the hospital which is where their stories converge.
Although there is a lot written about WWI, it was interesting to do it through the eyes of nurses, but more so this book is about friendship and resilience.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Jessie is a local seamstress who signs up due to the volume of injuries being treated in the hospital which is where their stories converge.
Although there is a lot written about WWI, it was interesting to do it through the eyes of nurses, but more so this book is about friendship and resilience.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 1, 2022
My English nurse grandmother met my Australian grandfather during WW1 so i was particularly interested to read this novel, based on real and fictional characters. Set in 1915 Cora and some other Australian nurses go to start and work in an Australian hospital outside London. Local young woman Jessie volunteers to help and the novel goes between both stories. At almost 600 pages I found the book a tad long but then it was a long war! Well researched as ever.
April 26, 2022
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.
My heart was broken, put back together and broken again!! What an amazing book! I absolutely loved Cora, William, Gertie and the others but, to me, Jessie steals this story! Her growth and strength shines through from her introduction. Thanks to Victoria Purman for bringing this story to light.
My heart was broken, put back together and broken again!! What an amazing book! I absolutely loved Cora, William, Gertie and the others but, to me, Jessie steals this story! Her growth and strength shines through from her introduction. Thanks to Victoria Purman for bringing this story to light.
May 17, 2022
The Nurses' War is heartbreaking, a raw and honest look at the life of Australian nurses in England in World War I
Need to sit with this one a while I think and ponder the sacrifices, the pain, the unfairness and the heroic effort it must have taken for everyone involved to simply survive that time.
I read The Nurses’ War months ago, I was going to have it read and reviewed in time for release day at the end of March. But I have a problem with the next shiny new thing… which is always the next book (or 4).
Earlier this month I attended an author talk with Victoria at the Murray Bridge Library and I promised her I would actually get the review written. I walked away from the talk with an amazing lunch (Thank you McCues Bakery – delicious), a head full of information and a determination to get the review written over the weekend.
Apparently determination just wasn’t enough, in my defence I had a huge weekend of people in my house, a beautiful wedding and then a positive Covid case in the house so things haven’t really been quiet and conducive to fingers on keys.
Let me say before I start that if you ever get the opportunity to attend a talk at the Murray Bridge Library I would highly recommend it. A lovely space, friendly staff and of course delicious food. I hadn’t made a talk in Murray Bridge until now but I will definitely try to make them more often.
Also, if you can attend one of Victoria Purman’s events I would definitely recommend it. She is witty, intelligent and filled with information. You will not be disappointed. We heard about her inspiration for the book, her connections to some of the characters and settings and were treated to a short reading of quite an amusing scene. I love hearing books in the voice of the author, adds a new element and depth I find.
I read The Nurses’ War well before the talk and I was completely engrossed, the story is set in a time that I really just can not fathom. My personal life experiences are so far from the historical periods that she writes about that I don’t have a frame of reference. Listening to Purman at the author talk and getting all of the background information did give me a point of connection though and I thought that was super cool.
Now that I’m going to review and touch on the author talk together I don’t really know where to start.
History was never really a subject that drew me in and I think a lot of that is because I have no frame of reference, it’s all so far removed from my own personal experiences, but reading Purman’s historical fiction draws me all of the way in and fascinates me. The fact that she is a South Australian author who writes characters or settings close to home may help with that, or it could just be her story-telling abilities.
Sister Cora Barker is a nurse from South Australia who has embarked on a 6 week journey by boat to England where she is going to help set up a hospital for Australian soldiers in an English Manor house. The fascinating thing here is that Harefield Park is a real place, that became an (I want to say the first) Australian Military Hospital. It was donated by ex-patriots and Purman went into detail on how this all came about in her author talk. She was so enamoured by the sacrifice the Billyard-Leake family made that she included them in the book. Some of the stipulations made by the Billyard-Leakes was that the hospital was only for Australians, that all patients be treated equally regardless of rank and that all the doctors and nurses were also Australian.
Harefield Park became the No.1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, also referred to as Harefield Hospital. It was originally estimated that the hospital would house anywhere from 50-150 wounded soldiers but at it’s peak there were over 1000 soldiers housed. The grounds were quickly lined with huts for wards, mess halls and stores as the scope of the hospital rapidly grew. The hospital was set up for use during the war in 1915, when everyone was sure the war would end by Christmas – but it didn’t. The war dragged on and the hospital grew, and grew, and grew.
The Nurses’ War follows the lives of the original four nurses that travelled from Australia to help transform the house into a hospital. Purman paints them in a realistic light, she said in her talk that she wanted to make sure they came across as authentic, rather than perfect. They suffered through terrible conditions and were faced with the knowledge that if they did their jobs well they were just sending these soldiers straight back into the firing line, quite literally.
We get to know the four original nurses quite well but Cora is definitely our leading lady. Purman gives us a great insight into the lives of the nurses and the struggles they faced. The lives of these women were so different to ours, it really is difficult to think about the fact that they could work or they could marry; they couldn’t do both. Career nurses who were passionate about their jobs were destined to be lonely because the moment they found a partner they were required to give up their jobs, even in a time where the need for nurses was at an absolute high.
The war dragged on and it became harder and harder for the staff at the hospital to remain optimistic but they kept on keeping on and doing the best they could, always extending the capacity of the hospital to try and keep up with demand. Forever watching the stream of soldiers come and go.
The subject matter is quite hard to handle at times but Purman manages to inject moments of levity; there is humour and there is an element of romance, there is an ever present sense of hope and a holistic look at life in Harefield Hospital for both the staff and the patients.
We are also allowed an insight into how the hospital impacted on the nearby town and it’s residents. Jessie Chester is one of the residents of the nearby village, a young seamstress living at home with her mother and disabled brother. Her life has always been quite sheltered and she’s been happy watching the world go by her front window.
In the early days Jessie and her mother help clean as the house is transformed, and then she returns to her life in the village, but it gives her a taste for something more and when the call goes out for more help Jessie takes on a role at the hospital, while still helping her mother as a seamstress.
There are characters in The Nurses’ War that are based on real people, the hospital is a real place, and though the book is historical fiction there is always an element of things that really happened. Purman manages to bring history to life for me and leave me fascinated in a way that I never have been before.
This book is weighty, both in it’s subject matter and it’s page count. I read it on Kindle so didn’t realise just how big it was until I saw a print copy and at 577 pages … it’s big. It’s fascinating, enthralling and heartbreaking.
I absolutely loved The Nurses’ War and Sister Cora Barker is a character who will stay with me for a long time yet. Victoria Purman you’ve done it again. Loved, loved, loved it.
For more information on Harefield House and the Billyard-Leakes there is some great references in the back of The Nurses’ War and Google is your friend, you won’t be disappointed.
Need to sit with this one a while I think and ponder the sacrifices, the pain, the unfairness and the heroic effort it must have taken for everyone involved to simply survive that time.
I read The Nurses’ War months ago, I was going to have it read and reviewed in time for release day at the end of March. But I have a problem with the next shiny new thing… which is always the next book (or 4).
Earlier this month I attended an author talk with Victoria at the Murray Bridge Library and I promised her I would actually get the review written. I walked away from the talk with an amazing lunch (Thank you McCues Bakery – delicious), a head full of information and a determination to get the review written over the weekend.
Apparently determination just wasn’t enough, in my defence I had a huge weekend of people in my house, a beautiful wedding and then a positive Covid case in the house so things haven’t really been quiet and conducive to fingers on keys.
Let me say before I start that if you ever get the opportunity to attend a talk at the Murray Bridge Library I would highly recommend it. A lovely space, friendly staff and of course delicious food. I hadn’t made a talk in Murray Bridge until now but I will definitely try to make them more often.
Also, if you can attend one of Victoria Purman’s events I would definitely recommend it. She is witty, intelligent and filled with information. You will not be disappointed. We heard about her inspiration for the book, her connections to some of the characters and settings and were treated to a short reading of quite an amusing scene. I love hearing books in the voice of the author, adds a new element and depth I find.
I read The Nurses’ War well before the talk and I was completely engrossed, the story is set in a time that I really just can not fathom. My personal life experiences are so far from the historical periods that she writes about that I don’t have a frame of reference. Listening to Purman at the author talk and getting all of the background information did give me a point of connection though and I thought that was super cool.
Now that I’m going to review and touch on the author talk together I don’t really know where to start.
History was never really a subject that drew me in and I think a lot of that is because I have no frame of reference, it’s all so far removed from my own personal experiences, but reading Purman’s historical fiction draws me all of the way in and fascinates me. The fact that she is a South Australian author who writes characters or settings close to home may help with that, or it could just be her story-telling abilities.
Sister Cora Barker is a nurse from South Australia who has embarked on a 6 week journey by boat to England where she is going to help set up a hospital for Australian soldiers in an English Manor house. The fascinating thing here is that Harefield Park is a real place, that became an (I want to say the first) Australian Military Hospital. It was donated by ex-patriots and Purman went into detail on how this all came about in her author talk. She was so enamoured by the sacrifice the Billyard-Leake family made that she included them in the book. Some of the stipulations made by the Billyard-Leakes was that the hospital was only for Australians, that all patients be treated equally regardless of rank and that all the doctors and nurses were also Australian.
Harefield Park became the No.1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, also referred to as Harefield Hospital. It was originally estimated that the hospital would house anywhere from 50-150 wounded soldiers but at it’s peak there were over 1000 soldiers housed. The grounds were quickly lined with huts for wards, mess halls and stores as the scope of the hospital rapidly grew. The hospital was set up for use during the war in 1915, when everyone was sure the war would end by Christmas – but it didn’t. The war dragged on and the hospital grew, and grew, and grew.
The Nurses’ War follows the lives of the original four nurses that travelled from Australia to help transform the house into a hospital. Purman paints them in a realistic light, she said in her talk that she wanted to make sure they came across as authentic, rather than perfect. They suffered through terrible conditions and were faced with the knowledge that if they did their jobs well they were just sending these soldiers straight back into the firing line, quite literally.
We get to know the four original nurses quite well but Cora is definitely our leading lady. Purman gives us a great insight into the lives of the nurses and the struggles they faced. The lives of these women were so different to ours, it really is difficult to think about the fact that they could work or they could marry; they couldn’t do both. Career nurses who were passionate about their jobs were destined to be lonely because the moment they found a partner they were required to give up their jobs, even in a time where the need for nurses was at an absolute high.
The war dragged on and it became harder and harder for the staff at the hospital to remain optimistic but they kept on keeping on and doing the best they could, always extending the capacity of the hospital to try and keep up with demand. Forever watching the stream of soldiers come and go.
The subject matter is quite hard to handle at times but Purman manages to inject moments of levity; there is humour and there is an element of romance, there is an ever present sense of hope and a holistic look at life in Harefield Hospital for both the staff and the patients.
We are also allowed an insight into how the hospital impacted on the nearby town and it’s residents. Jessie Chester is one of the residents of the nearby village, a young seamstress living at home with her mother and disabled brother. Her life has always been quite sheltered and she’s been happy watching the world go by her front window.
In the early days Jessie and her mother help clean as the house is transformed, and then she returns to her life in the village, but it gives her a taste for something more and when the call goes out for more help Jessie takes on a role at the hospital, while still helping her mother as a seamstress.
There are characters in The Nurses’ War that are based on real people, the hospital is a real place, and though the book is historical fiction there is always an element of things that really happened. Purman manages to bring history to life for me and leave me fascinated in a way that I never have been before.
This book is weighty, both in it’s subject matter and it’s page count. I read it on Kindle so didn’t realise just how big it was until I saw a print copy and at 577 pages … it’s big. It’s fascinating, enthralling and heartbreaking.
I absolutely loved The Nurses’ War and Sister Cora Barker is a character who will stay with me for a long time yet. Victoria Purman you’ve done it again. Loved, loved, loved it.
For more information on Harefield House and the Billyard-Leakes there is some great references in the back of The Nurses’ War and Google is your friend, you won’t be disappointed.
December 19, 2022
Thank you to Harlequin Australia for sending me a copy of this book to review!
In 1915 as WWI rages in Europe, Australian nurse Cora leaves her home in Adelaide for England determined to do her bit for the war as a nurse in a newly established house-turned-hospital for recovering Australian soldiers. Local English girl Jessie also volunteers at the hospital when the patient intake begins to increase dramatically.
Thinking that the war would be over by Christmas, none of the nurses are quite prepared for the years it drags on and the extent of injuries and number of soldiers who pass through the doors of their hospital. Neither Cora or Jessie are unaffected by what they see and experience and come to realize that the nurses’ war is one against despair and death.
This is the second book I’ve read by this author and once again I enjoyed how the author closely examines the lives of different groups of people in wartime - this time obviously from the perspective of nurses. I enjoyed the characters in this story and could empathize with their despair and fatigue which must have just been all encompassing as the war continued to drag on.
I also found it fascinating that a couple of the characters were based on real people, including the character of Jessie who was the fiancée of the author’s husband’s family member. A really interesting and moving book that gave me plenty to reflect on. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.
In 1915 as WWI rages in Europe, Australian nurse Cora leaves her home in Adelaide for England determined to do her bit for the war as a nurse in a newly established house-turned-hospital for recovering Australian soldiers. Local English girl Jessie also volunteers at the hospital when the patient intake begins to increase dramatically.
Thinking that the war would be over by Christmas, none of the nurses are quite prepared for the years it drags on and the extent of injuries and number of soldiers who pass through the doors of their hospital. Neither Cora or Jessie are unaffected by what they see and experience and come to realize that the nurses’ war is one against despair and death.
This is the second book I’ve read by this author and once again I enjoyed how the author closely examines the lives of different groups of people in wartime - this time obviously from the perspective of nurses. I enjoyed the characters in this story and could empathize with their despair and fatigue which must have just been all encompassing as the war continued to drag on.
I also found it fascinating that a couple of the characters were based on real people, including the character of Jessie who was the fiancée of the author’s husband’s family member. A really interesting and moving book that gave me plenty to reflect on. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.
April 4, 2022
An outstanding novel by Victoria Purman. It was great to read a story about the First World War and especially the Australian contingent of nurses that served in England during this period. Authentic characters and situations were portrayed with clarity about what the nurses went through and how it changed their lives. Of course the Australian soldiers who were under their care suffered terribly and many lives were lost. The two main characters were Cora and also Jessie who lived in the nearby village, her character grew immensely during the book.
This was a big book to read but didn’t feel that way as the story kept me fully engaged from beginning to end. I believe this is one of Victoria’s best books so far.
This was a big book to read but didn’t feel that way as the story kept me fully engaged from beginning to end. I believe this is one of Victoria’s best books so far.
May 9, 2022
The Nurses' War by Victoria Purman is a book that grabs hold of your heart and doesn't let go. The story of nurses' and their contribution to the First World War is inspired by the real-life love of the author's, husband's great uncle who served in the war and died in action on the battlefields of Ypres. Now, in the time of a great pandemic, when our own nurses are facing a different type of enemy, it is a tribute to all nurses through time. As the author notes, she has written a mix of real and imagined characters in the novel. Australian, Sister Cora Barker, leaves her Australia homeland and travels to England. There she helps transform Harefield House, donated to the Australian Army, into a hospital
for recuperating Australian soldiers. The Nurses' War is a story of courage and despair but most of all it is about hope.
for recuperating Australian soldiers. The Nurses' War is a story of courage and despair but most of all it is about hope.
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