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Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell was born on 4th December 1865, daughter of the vicar of Swardeston in Norfolk, and shot in Brussels on 12th October 1915 by the Germans for sheltering British and French soldiers and helping them escape over the Belgian border. Following a traditional village childhood in 19th century England, Edith worked as a governess in the UK and abroad, before training as a nurse in London in 1895. To Edith, nursing was a duty, a vocation, but above all a service. By 1907, she had travelled most of Europe and become matron of her own hospital in Belgium, where, under her leadership, a ramshackle hospital with few staff and little organization became a model nursing school. When war broke out, Edith helped soldiers to escape the war by giving them jobs in her hospital, finding clothing and organizing safe passage into Holland. In all, she assisted over two hundred men. When her secret work was discovered, Edith was put on trial and sentenced to death by firing squad. She uttered only 130 words in her defence. A devout Christian, the evening before her death, she asked to be remembered as a nurse, not a hero or a martyr, and prayed to be fit for heaven. When news of Edith's death reached Britain, army recruitment doubled. After the war, Edith's body was retuned to the UK by train and every station through which the coffin passed was crowded with mourners. Diana Souhami brings one of the Great War's finest heroes to life in this biography of a hardworking, courageous and independent woman.
404 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
July 9, 2017
4.5 stars- A fascinating and inspiring biography of the famous nurse, Edith Cavell. I picked this up on a whim while browsing the WWI/WWII history section at the library and I'm glad I did! I didn’t know much about Ms. Cavell (aside from the most common facts) before I read this, but I’ve since learned that she lived a remarkable life in serving God, people and country.
I loved the writing style- it almost had a journalism type feel to it. I also liked how the author included a lot of detail on the men and women who crossed Ms. Cavell’s path, particularly highlighting the bravery of many resistance workers whose names I would have never otherwise heard about. I did feel that, especially in the latter parts of the biography, the author was not completely objective, and so I dock off half a star (though only that much because the rest was so good).
Highly recommend! Even if you don't often read biographies, like me.
I loved the writing style- it almost had a journalism type feel to it. I also liked how the author included a lot of detail on the men and women who crossed Ms. Cavell’s path, particularly highlighting the bravery of many resistance workers whose names I would have never otherwise heard about. I did feel that, especially in the latter parts of the biography, the author was not completely objective, and so I dock off half a star (though only that much because the rest was so good).
Highly recommend! Even if you don't often read biographies, like me.
November 27, 2024
It is interesting to read a biography of someone whose persona has been shaped, in large part, by propaganda. Diana Souhami has done a superb job of bringing Cavell, the woman, into the twenty first century with this brilliantly researched and written book. It honours Cavell for who she really was - or as close as you can get with primary sources - a woman far more unconventional and surprising than the propaganda suggests. And perhaps also more humble: of the three nouns in the title she'd probably only apply one to herself: that of nurse.
We all know of Edith Cavell because of her terrible execution by the Germans in Belgium in 1915, an act that subsequently aroused a swell of propaganda inciting young men of Britain to sign up and avenge the angel in white. Yet nothing would have horrified Edith more than people dying on her behalf. Souhami divides the biography into six parts: Cavell's childhood; training as a nurse; arrival in Belgium to set up a nursing school; the German invasion; her capture, interrogation, trial and execution; the aftermath. Souhami's particular skill is the way she introduces themes and fleshes out detail with description, almost like a historical miniseries. Of Edith's birth in the quintessentially English town of Swardeston in 1865, Souhami says, 'war was a distant belligerence.' She segues from the role of the midwife, to how Florence Nightingale advised women to home birth because hospitals were unsanitary places, to the birth itself: 'The hair mattress was covered with an oiled silk cloth and sheets folded into four. The midwife had ready scissors, thread, a calico binder.' Thus Souhami skillfully weaves together Edith and the themes that will underpin her life and death.
The daughter of a Reverend, from an early age the duty to help those in need became Edith's 'moral standard.' For a time she went to a finishing shcool to prepare her for a role expected of young educated women in those days - that of governess in a private household. I enjoyed Souhami's description of the school's owner, 'Miss Gibson was a lesbian separatist. She referred to men as the Adamses, complained that they never showed any chivalry towards Eve... Her cats, to which she was devoted, were named Lord Mounteagle and Stumpy.' This introduces another strong theme of the book: that of independent, free-thinking women, a group to which Cavell definitely belongs.
Edith worked as a governess in Belgium for a time, establishing an early connection there, but did not find the role fulfilling. Her younger sisters had taken up nursing and she returned to England to follow the profession. Souhami provides an interesting history of the nursing profession which, at the time, had been considered, 'an occupation of last resort for those too old, too weak, too drunken, too dirty, too stupid, or too bad to do anything else.' This was beginning to change, helped by Florence Nightingale's handbook, Notes on Nursing, the work of Pastuer and Lister in vaccinations and antiseptic surgery, and the appointment of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson as the first practising female doctor (1865). Cavell's training took place at the London hospital under Eva Luckes, 'A large purposeful woman... with the authoritative manner of... an army commander.' In London's east end, the hospital offered free treatment to the poor. Here, Edith dealt with typhoid epidemics, catheters, bedpans, scrubbing, injections, tracheotomies and amputations, all the grim realities and horrors of sickness and surgery, as well as how to recognise and deal with the onset of death. Luckes emphasised the importance of self-control and compassion, yet in her notes described Edith as 'too self-sufficient' and she struggled to be promoted. She went from St Pancreas Infirmiry, a Poor Law institution for the sick, where the senile were 'herded together' with cancer patients, unmarried mothers, children with measles, and the mentally ill, to assistant matron at Shoreditch. Then, after ten years in hospitals with some of the worst conditions in London, Cavell was finally offered a job as matron, working under lead surgeon Antoine Depage to set up. a training school for nurses in Brussels. Edith had the advantage of being able to speak French.
Letters from Edith herself to her mother, sisters and Luckes, are a strong source throughout the chapters that follow. What comes across is her persistance and hands-on approach. During this time she acquires two god-daughters, Pauline Randall, a 13 year old who comes into her care in 1911 after running away from her (Pauline's) father's travelling circus, and Grace Jemmell, a chain-smoking morphine addict sent to Edith by her brother-in-law, a doctor. She also develops a strong relationship with Sister Elizabeth Wilkins, her 'deputy in work, her ally and friend', and has a dog, Jack, to whom she is devoted. She does not marry, and there is no concrete evidence for her sexualty, only supposition. What is clear is that she is intelligent, resourceful, artistic and adventurous. By the time war arrives, Edith has made a success of the training school for nurses. She has helped others, and found her purpose.
After the Germans invade, Edith is given the job of supervising the conversion of buildings to military hospitals. Souhami describes German officers driving through the streets shouting through loudspeakers, crowds gathering at railway stations after big battles. Edith flies the red cross flag over the hospital training school. Souhami also takes time to devote a chapter to 'The Men who dies in Swathes' drawing on the voices of soldiers to give primary source accounts of battle conditions, the experience of the front. This is important. Souhami does not shy away from stating her position of the First World War 'meat grinder,' especially since there seems to have been a fashion over the last ten years for historians seeking to reverse the lions led by donkeys opinion. Souhami tells it like it is, with more than a hint of very acceptable outrage. The following are some quotes:
'It is vile that all my time should be devoted to killing Germans whom I don't in the least want to kill.' Brigadier-General Philip Howele, killed in France 1916.
'The wretched inhabitants here have got practically no food left. It is miserable to see them leaving their houses, and tracking away, with great bundles and children in their hands. And the dogs and cats left in the deserted villages are piteous.' Julian Grenfell, killed May 1915.
'If I live I mean to spend the rest of my life working for perpetual peace.' Captain Thomas Kettle, died in France 1916.
In occupied Brussels, Edith describes extreme poverty, bread queues, people with number cards waiting for food, holding bowls and pitchers, theatres and cinemas closed down. 'The once busy and bustling streets are very quiet and silent... No one speaks to his neighbour in the tram for he may be a spy.' In a letter to her mother she says, 'A German officer on a tram politely asked a gentleman for a light; he handed him his cigar without a word, and, on receiving it back, threw it in the gutter... Such incidents happen often.' In this atmosphere, Edith begins using the hospital training school as a safehouse for soldiers seeking to escape or return to the front. From there, she personally took the men to a handover point where a guide waited to lead them to the Dutch border, 'The disguised soldiers followed at a discreet distance. She grew adept at circutous routes, the sudden boarding or getting off a tram, at seeming nonchalant, at watching reflected images of people in plate glass windows, at taking special note of the roadsweeper, postman or builder who might be a spy.' Souhami fleshes out a spy network with an impressive cast of characters from princesses, priests, poachers, a postman with ladylike table manners, Churchill's sister-in-law, farmers, widows, children, and a one-eyed drunken boxer of whom Edith was especially fond. All of them involved in hiding, disguising and arranging paperwork and passage for these fugitives. Also included in the cast are the German kommandants now in charge of Brussels, and the allied consuls. The premise of any occupation is outlined brilliantly by Souhami, 'Power is ours because we took it by force. We are the lawmakers now. You must do what we say and go where we tell you or we shall punish you even by taking your life. Dissent is a crime.'
These circumstances the law-abiding Edith Cavell could not accept, and that made her into a subversive. She is interrogated and held in solitary confinement at St Gilles prison. There is certainly a series of failures by those with power to do anything to intervene. The cynic in me if someone somewhere thought her impending execution might be used to the advantage of the recruitment drive. But maybe not. Her farcical trial is worthy of a movie scene, with the bemedalled General von Sauberzweig insisting on her execution within hours of sentencing. Souhami presents a moving picture of Cavell dressing in her prison cell for the last time, 'She fixed... her hat with a tortoiseshell pin.' Then, Souhami switches perspective, 'An hour later, Louise Thuliez and Jeanne de Belville heard her door open and close.' This switch to Cavell's co-accused just at the moment she is taken to her execution I thought was a stroke of genius. It really brought home the fact that Edith no longer has a point of view. She is in the hands of her accusers and soon all her actions will be done.
The war was to continue for another three years. Of the estimated 1500 men she helped, it is thought only a dozen survived. This book is a tribute to Cavell, and to the spirit of resistance. As far as biographies go, they don't come better. Souhami is a great researcher and writer. But I will leave with an image of Cavell herself. This is from her friend, Sister Wilkins, who observed Edith after visiting her at St Gilles, 'As she walked away from me that afternoon, I remember how erectly she carried her slight body. Her whole bearing was calm and composed.'
We all know of Edith Cavell because of her terrible execution by the Germans in Belgium in 1915, an act that subsequently aroused a swell of propaganda inciting young men of Britain to sign up and avenge the angel in white. Yet nothing would have horrified Edith more than people dying on her behalf. Souhami divides the biography into six parts: Cavell's childhood; training as a nurse; arrival in Belgium to set up a nursing school; the German invasion; her capture, interrogation, trial and execution; the aftermath. Souhami's particular skill is the way she introduces themes and fleshes out detail with description, almost like a historical miniseries. Of Edith's birth in the quintessentially English town of Swardeston in 1865, Souhami says, 'war was a distant belligerence.' She segues from the role of the midwife, to how Florence Nightingale advised women to home birth because hospitals were unsanitary places, to the birth itself: 'The hair mattress was covered with an oiled silk cloth and sheets folded into four. The midwife had ready scissors, thread, a calico binder.' Thus Souhami skillfully weaves together Edith and the themes that will underpin her life and death.
The daughter of a Reverend, from an early age the duty to help those in need became Edith's 'moral standard.' For a time she went to a finishing shcool to prepare her for a role expected of young educated women in those days - that of governess in a private household. I enjoyed Souhami's description of the school's owner, 'Miss Gibson was a lesbian separatist. She referred to men as the Adamses, complained that they never showed any chivalry towards Eve... Her cats, to which she was devoted, were named Lord Mounteagle and Stumpy.' This introduces another strong theme of the book: that of independent, free-thinking women, a group to which Cavell definitely belongs.
Edith worked as a governess in Belgium for a time, establishing an early connection there, but did not find the role fulfilling. Her younger sisters had taken up nursing and she returned to England to follow the profession. Souhami provides an interesting history of the nursing profession which, at the time, had been considered, 'an occupation of last resort for those too old, too weak, too drunken, too dirty, too stupid, or too bad to do anything else.' This was beginning to change, helped by Florence Nightingale's handbook, Notes on Nursing, the work of Pastuer and Lister in vaccinations and antiseptic surgery, and the appointment of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson as the first practising female doctor (1865). Cavell's training took place at the London hospital under Eva Luckes, 'A large purposeful woman... with the authoritative manner of... an army commander.' In London's east end, the hospital offered free treatment to the poor. Here, Edith dealt with typhoid epidemics, catheters, bedpans, scrubbing, injections, tracheotomies and amputations, all the grim realities and horrors of sickness and surgery, as well as how to recognise and deal with the onset of death. Luckes emphasised the importance of self-control and compassion, yet in her notes described Edith as 'too self-sufficient' and she struggled to be promoted. She went from St Pancreas Infirmiry, a Poor Law institution for the sick, where the senile were 'herded together' with cancer patients, unmarried mothers, children with measles, and the mentally ill, to assistant matron at Shoreditch. Then, after ten years in hospitals with some of the worst conditions in London, Cavell was finally offered a job as matron, working under lead surgeon Antoine Depage to set up. a training school for nurses in Brussels. Edith had the advantage of being able to speak French.
Letters from Edith herself to her mother, sisters and Luckes, are a strong source throughout the chapters that follow. What comes across is her persistance and hands-on approach. During this time she acquires two god-daughters, Pauline Randall, a 13 year old who comes into her care in 1911 after running away from her (Pauline's) father's travelling circus, and Grace Jemmell, a chain-smoking morphine addict sent to Edith by her brother-in-law, a doctor. She also develops a strong relationship with Sister Elizabeth Wilkins, her 'deputy in work, her ally and friend', and has a dog, Jack, to whom she is devoted. She does not marry, and there is no concrete evidence for her sexualty, only supposition. What is clear is that she is intelligent, resourceful, artistic and adventurous. By the time war arrives, Edith has made a success of the training school for nurses. She has helped others, and found her purpose.
After the Germans invade, Edith is given the job of supervising the conversion of buildings to military hospitals. Souhami describes German officers driving through the streets shouting through loudspeakers, crowds gathering at railway stations after big battles. Edith flies the red cross flag over the hospital training school. Souhami also takes time to devote a chapter to 'The Men who dies in Swathes' drawing on the voices of soldiers to give primary source accounts of battle conditions, the experience of the front. This is important. Souhami does not shy away from stating her position of the First World War 'meat grinder,' especially since there seems to have been a fashion over the last ten years for historians seeking to reverse the lions led by donkeys opinion. Souhami tells it like it is, with more than a hint of very acceptable outrage. The following are some quotes:
'It is vile that all my time should be devoted to killing Germans whom I don't in the least want to kill.' Brigadier-General Philip Howele, killed in France 1916.
'The wretched inhabitants here have got practically no food left. It is miserable to see them leaving their houses, and tracking away, with great bundles and children in their hands. And the dogs and cats left in the deserted villages are piteous.' Julian Grenfell, killed May 1915.
'If I live I mean to spend the rest of my life working for perpetual peace.' Captain Thomas Kettle, died in France 1916.
In occupied Brussels, Edith describes extreme poverty, bread queues, people with number cards waiting for food, holding bowls and pitchers, theatres and cinemas closed down. 'The once busy and bustling streets are very quiet and silent... No one speaks to his neighbour in the tram for he may be a spy.' In a letter to her mother she says, 'A German officer on a tram politely asked a gentleman for a light; he handed him his cigar without a word, and, on receiving it back, threw it in the gutter... Such incidents happen often.' In this atmosphere, Edith begins using the hospital training school as a safehouse for soldiers seeking to escape or return to the front. From there, she personally took the men to a handover point where a guide waited to lead them to the Dutch border, 'The disguised soldiers followed at a discreet distance. She grew adept at circutous routes, the sudden boarding or getting off a tram, at seeming nonchalant, at watching reflected images of people in plate glass windows, at taking special note of the roadsweeper, postman or builder who might be a spy.' Souhami fleshes out a spy network with an impressive cast of characters from princesses, priests, poachers, a postman with ladylike table manners, Churchill's sister-in-law, farmers, widows, children, and a one-eyed drunken boxer of whom Edith was especially fond. All of them involved in hiding, disguising and arranging paperwork and passage for these fugitives. Also included in the cast are the German kommandants now in charge of Brussels, and the allied consuls. The premise of any occupation is outlined brilliantly by Souhami, 'Power is ours because we took it by force. We are the lawmakers now. You must do what we say and go where we tell you or we shall punish you even by taking your life. Dissent is a crime.'
These circumstances the law-abiding Edith Cavell could not accept, and that made her into a subversive. She is interrogated and held in solitary confinement at St Gilles prison. There is certainly a series of failures by those with power to do anything to intervene. The cynic in me if someone somewhere thought her impending execution might be used to the advantage of the recruitment drive. But maybe not. Her farcical trial is worthy of a movie scene, with the bemedalled General von Sauberzweig insisting on her execution within hours of sentencing. Souhami presents a moving picture of Cavell dressing in her prison cell for the last time, 'She fixed... her hat with a tortoiseshell pin.' Then, Souhami switches perspective, 'An hour later, Louise Thuliez and Jeanne de Belville heard her door open and close.' This switch to Cavell's co-accused just at the moment she is taken to her execution I thought was a stroke of genius. It really brought home the fact that Edith no longer has a point of view. She is in the hands of her accusers and soon all her actions will be done.
The war was to continue for another three years. Of the estimated 1500 men she helped, it is thought only a dozen survived. This book is a tribute to Cavell, and to the spirit of resistance. As far as biographies go, they don't come better. Souhami is a great researcher and writer. But I will leave with an image of Cavell herself. This is from her friend, Sister Wilkins, who observed Edith after visiting her at St Gilles, 'As she walked away from me that afternoon, I remember how erectly she carried her slight body. Her whole bearing was calm and composed.'
January 20, 2022
I knew very little about Edith Cavell before reading this book and only decided to read about her following a talk on Zoom about WW1. I am so glad that I did decide to read it as it was not only totally absorbing but also so inspiring. A truly understated heroine.
October 13, 2015
Edith Cavell: Nurse, Martyr, Heroine by Diana Souhami
4.5 stars rounded 4 because of a lack of objectivity
Between November 1914 and July 1915 Edith Cavell assisted numerous soldiers known as “lost children” out of German occupied Belgium during WWI. She didn’t begin as a resistance work though. She came of age when the nursing industry was vastly changing, gaining respect. At one time it was looked upon as little better than slavery. However, Edith Cavell was inspired by the work Florence Nightingale performed during the Crimean War. She studied nursing and was eventually asked to set up a nursing school in Belgium just prior to Germany’s invasion of the country. Her approach, inspired from her training and her devotion to her faith, was to assist all in need. She told her students, “Any wounded soldier, she told them, must be treated, friend or foe. Each man was a father, husband or son. As nurses they must take no part in the quarrel. Their work was for humanity…” Her faith was deeply rooted in love for humanity. She treated German soldiers. However, when the “lost children” found their way to her hospital she couldn’t in good conscience report them to authorities as demanded. Instead she helped them to safety. Once the Prince and Princess de Croy learned of her efforts they enlisted in her into the resistance movement. The German authorities caught on. She knew she was about to be arrested and was committed to continuing the work. She was along with 35 arrested in an orchestrated German operation. Among the prisoners 32 men and 13 women were arrested. Many were sentenced to death. Yet, only Edith and one other person were actually executed. The Germans carried out her punishment within 24 hours of her sentence before any diplomatic channels could intervene and her death became a rallying cry – “Remember Edith Cavell.” It reminds me of the popular Texas yell, “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!” However, my one point of contention with the author, I don’t buy that it played a role in America entering the war. I’ve read quite a bit on this era the past two years. The only mention I’ve seen of Cavell is in the Herbert Hoover biography because he was managing the food relief efforts in Belgium at the time of the execution. Therefore, the author comes across as being so enamored by her subject that there may be a bit hyperbole in the pages. Given that criticism there is quite a bit of evidence that Cavell was committed to humanity, stayed true to her moral compass, and faced death with courage and the resolve that she did the right thing. That is quite admirable.
"That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive-all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment." It was a mention of Edith Cavell in the Herbert Hoover biography that led me to this study. Now I want to find a book on the Princess de Croy, who not only served as an important resistance fighter in WWI, but went on to do the same work during WWII.
Ironically, I completed the book on the 100th anniversary of her execution.
4.5 stars rounded 4 because of a lack of objectivity
Between November 1914 and July 1915 Edith Cavell assisted numerous soldiers known as “lost children” out of German occupied Belgium during WWI. She didn’t begin as a resistance work though. She came of age when the nursing industry was vastly changing, gaining respect. At one time it was looked upon as little better than slavery. However, Edith Cavell was inspired by the work Florence Nightingale performed during the Crimean War. She studied nursing and was eventually asked to set up a nursing school in Belgium just prior to Germany’s invasion of the country. Her approach, inspired from her training and her devotion to her faith, was to assist all in need. She told her students, “Any wounded soldier, she told them, must be treated, friend or foe. Each man was a father, husband or son. As nurses they must take no part in the quarrel. Their work was for humanity…” Her faith was deeply rooted in love for humanity. She treated German soldiers. However, when the “lost children” found their way to her hospital she couldn’t in good conscience report them to authorities as demanded. Instead she helped them to safety. Once the Prince and Princess de Croy learned of her efforts they enlisted in her into the resistance movement. The German authorities caught on. She knew she was about to be arrested and was committed to continuing the work. She was along with 35 arrested in an orchestrated German operation. Among the prisoners 32 men and 13 women were arrested. Many were sentenced to death. Yet, only Edith and one other person were actually executed. The Germans carried out her punishment within 24 hours of her sentence before any diplomatic channels could intervene and her death became a rallying cry – “Remember Edith Cavell.” It reminds me of the popular Texas yell, “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!” However, my one point of contention with the author, I don’t buy that it played a role in America entering the war. I’ve read quite a bit on this era the past two years. The only mention I’ve seen of Cavell is in the Herbert Hoover biography because he was managing the food relief efforts in Belgium at the time of the execution. Therefore, the author comes across as being so enamored by her subject that there may be a bit hyperbole in the pages. Given that criticism there is quite a bit of evidence that Cavell was committed to humanity, stayed true to her moral compass, and faced death with courage and the resolve that she did the right thing. That is quite admirable.
"That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive-all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment." It was a mention of Edith Cavell in the Herbert Hoover biography that led me to this study. Now I want to find a book on the Princess de Croy, who not only served as an important resistance fighter in WWI, but went on to do the same work during WWII.
Ironically, I completed the book on the 100th anniversary of her execution.
April 8, 2016
I had no idea who this woman was, or anything about her story, which is approaching one hundred years old. Over the past few years I have been a volunteer for a charity run radio station, that broadcasts to the local hospital as well as on the medium wave at 1350kHz. The station is called Radio Cavell.
Perhaps a couple of years back, maybe on the BBC's Radio 4, I caught a brief interview with the author, Diana Souhami, possibly around the time of this books publication in 2010. By chance, I found the book in the local library and felt compelled to learn the full story.
Edith Cavell was born in 1865, and the first third of this biography covers the Victorian world of a rural Norfolk village upbringing, until late in life, at the age of thirty, she enters the nursing profession, post Florence Nightingale, at the London Hospital, where Sir Frederick Treves (of Elephant Man fame) was a surgeon and teacher.
Cavell's career path finds her as Head Matron of a pioneering training school for nurses in Brussels in 1907, where she was working in 1914, when war was declared. Souhami's very well researched biography reaches a fascinating crescendo, detailing the resistance network that Cavell becomes involved with, in caring for wounded allied soldiers and facilitating their passage to neutral Holland, under the noses of the German military occupation. The network was broken in September of 1915, resulting in Edith Cavell's death in front of a firing squad on October 12th.
Incredible to learn that some of the female members of this network, who served prison terms, did exactly the same thing in 1940.
Perhaps a couple of years back, maybe on the BBC's Radio 4, I caught a brief interview with the author, Diana Souhami, possibly around the time of this books publication in 2010. By chance, I found the book in the local library and felt compelled to learn the full story.
Edith Cavell was born in 1865, and the first third of this biography covers the Victorian world of a rural Norfolk village upbringing, until late in life, at the age of thirty, she enters the nursing profession, post Florence Nightingale, at the London Hospital, where Sir Frederick Treves (of Elephant Man fame) was a surgeon and teacher.
Cavell's career path finds her as Head Matron of a pioneering training school for nurses in Brussels in 1907, where she was working in 1914, when war was declared. Souhami's very well researched biography reaches a fascinating crescendo, detailing the resistance network that Cavell becomes involved with, in caring for wounded allied soldiers and facilitating their passage to neutral Holland, under the noses of the German military occupation. The network was broken in September of 1915, resulting in Edith Cavell's death in front of a firing squad on October 12th.
Incredible to learn that some of the female members of this network, who served prison terms, did exactly the same thing in 1940.
August 28, 2018
I read this not knowing anything about Edith Cavell, and unfortunately, I feel very little changed that. While this is a biography for Cavell, I felt the author got carried away with context points, and it really drew away from her and what she really achieved. I felt like anything about Cavell came from the letters she gave, so there was no real interpretation of her, and I feel like the author used her to tell the story of Belgium during World War I rather than a story of Edith Cavell.
Still, it was an interesting, and well written read, and I'm glad her story was told as otherwise, I feel she is a forgotten ally to the war effort in some respects, at least in popular history now.
Still, it was an interesting, and well written read, and I'm glad her story was told as otherwise, I feel she is a forgotten ally to the war effort in some respects, at least in popular history now.
August 28, 2021
All I knew of Edith Cavell was things my father told me, when I was young - although I can’t say I could appreciate the enormity of her actions and bravery then. Very sad but well written. Excellent book. I now realise why my Dad was in awe of Edith’s courage . She never faltered even in the days leading upto her death. Shame that on her death things didn’t go as she would have wanted. Well worth the read.
December 13, 2022
Not a single name in this book (besides EC) was spelled correctly. What about her period in Gent? And why aren’t the monks mentioned? What about the Flemish part of her story? And her connections to the other underground heroes?
There are too many gaps in the story to call it good.
There are too many gaps in the story to call it good.
July 8, 2017
Anything by Diana Souhami is an inspiring read. I have enjoyed all her books so far and am eagerly awaiting the next.
April 26, 2011
Edith Cavell's was a story which impressed me as a young child - before I had the faintest notion of becoming a nurse myself, so I was pleased to receive this biography as a gift.
However, it was merely an OK read and I was keen to get to the end. I realised that although I read and enjoy biography it has probably all been autobiography.
I felt that Souhami tries to tell how good and devout Cavell was rather than show and thus was unconvincing which could be very unfair. I was also unhappy with the way Souhami attempts to demonstrate Cavell's superiority by negative reference to others. Some of the additional material she puts in the book, whilst very moving and eloquent in its own right (letters from soldiers who later died) it has very little relevance to Cavell's story.
I enjoyed of course the accounts of nurse training and the nursing life (although they were rather superficial) Eva Luckes the Matron of the London Hospital sounds a real character with a world class talent in damning with faint praise. Given the seemingly regular correspondence you can't help wondering if Cavell was utterly unaware or chose to ignore for the sake of using Luckes' influence to progress her career.
It was well worth having the section on the aftermath of the execution and how the event was manipulated on one side and justified by the other.
Granted her subject was a complex and unforthcoming woman - there are comments about how hard she was to get to know, but this should have rendered the book more interesting than it was. I suspect Souhami would like to see her beatified - I can't be certain how ironic the comparison with the incorruptibility of the bodies of saints was intended to be. It seems pretty clear to me from her letters that Cavell could not resist several veiled references to those who 'dropped her in it' and was not without struggle in attempting to live up to her own advice. However I can't help feeling that anyone who can say "Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone" knowing she is about to be shot deserves a rather more engaging biography than this one.
However, it was merely an OK read and I was keen to get to the end. I realised that although I read and enjoy biography it has probably all been autobiography.
I felt that Souhami tries to tell how good and devout Cavell was rather than show and thus was unconvincing which could be very unfair. I was also unhappy with the way Souhami attempts to demonstrate Cavell's superiority by negative reference to others. Some of the additional material she puts in the book, whilst very moving and eloquent in its own right (letters from soldiers who later died) it has very little relevance to Cavell's story.
I enjoyed of course the accounts of nurse training and the nursing life (although they were rather superficial) Eva Luckes the Matron of the London Hospital sounds a real character with a world class talent in damning with faint praise. Given the seemingly regular correspondence you can't help wondering if Cavell was utterly unaware or chose to ignore for the sake of using Luckes' influence to progress her career.
It was well worth having the section on the aftermath of the execution and how the event was manipulated on one side and justified by the other.
Granted her subject was a complex and unforthcoming woman - there are comments about how hard she was to get to know, but this should have rendered the book more interesting than it was. I suspect Souhami would like to see her beatified - I can't be certain how ironic the comparison with the incorruptibility of the bodies of saints was intended to be. It seems pretty clear to me from her letters that Cavell could not resist several veiled references to those who 'dropped her in it' and was not without struggle in attempting to live up to her own advice. However I can't help feeling that anyone who can say "Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone" knowing she is about to be shot deserves a rather more engaging biography than this one.
August 17, 2019
This is the remarkable story of a remarkable women. Fascinating to read about Edith’s life and her dedication, honesty, hard work and care throughout all of her years not just her sacrifice. And reading about the last few days of her life, the letters she wrote and devotions she underlined was so moving and intimate.
As for the writing, the first half of this book had me calling it one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read. It was engaging and avoided all my least favourite things about biographies. The author didn’t go off on random tangents about her own life in relation to Edith’s, she didn’t make assumptions about things she doesn’t know (she tells you what was happening to and around Edith - but doesn’t draw conclusions as the what Edith thought or was involved in when there is no evidence). I liked the amount of letters included, though I can't comment on the notes and sources. There are some in the back of the book but I didn't realise that until I got to the end so haven't followed any of those up, yet.
In the end though, this book was far too long. Although I appreciate context in biographies, it’s always a fine line as to when it feels irrelevant. In the latter stages of the book I got a bit lost with all the names and backstories of other people. Biographies are always going to have an element of author bias, the author picks what to write about and include in the book! In this book it was very subtle, which I think is due to the amount of letters included and the writing style, for me it was the perfect mix of engaging & readable and to-the-point formal. I do wonder about the level of detail in some of the descriptions, is that just artistic license? Setting the scene and making it personal based on educated guesses? Or are there archives (diaries, letters, notes, personal accounts etc.) that that's based on. I don't have an example and I guess I might know if I read the sources & notes.. awkward. :)
Something I wasn't expecting but which was very interesting was reading about how Edith was remembered after her death. How the killing of an English nurse was used to fuel war propaganda all around the world. Would Edith Cavell, and her family, have wanted that? What did she say about living and purpose during her life and how does that relate to how people used her memory to tell others how to live? Fascinating time, a captivating woman, a compelling story.
As for the writing, the first half of this book had me calling it one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read. It was engaging and avoided all my least favourite things about biographies. The author didn’t go off on random tangents about her own life in relation to Edith’s, she didn’t make assumptions about things she doesn’t know (she tells you what was happening to and around Edith - but doesn’t draw conclusions as the what Edith thought or was involved in when there is no evidence). I liked the amount of letters included, though I can't comment on the notes and sources. There are some in the back of the book but I didn't realise that until I got to the end so haven't followed any of those up, yet.
In the end though, this book was far too long. Although I appreciate context in biographies, it’s always a fine line as to when it feels irrelevant. In the latter stages of the book I got a bit lost with all the names and backstories of other people. Biographies are always going to have an element of author bias, the author picks what to write about and include in the book! In this book it was very subtle, which I think is due to the amount of letters included and the writing style, for me it was the perfect mix of engaging & readable and to-the-point formal. I do wonder about the level of detail in some of the descriptions, is that just artistic license? Setting the scene and making it personal based on educated guesses? Or are there archives (diaries, letters, notes, personal accounts etc.) that that's based on. I don't have an example and I guess I might know if I read the sources & notes.. awkward. :)
Something I wasn't expecting but which was very interesting was reading about how Edith was remembered after her death. How the killing of an English nurse was used to fuel war propaganda all around the world. Would Edith Cavell, and her family, have wanted that? What did she say about living and purpose during her life and how does that relate to how people used her memory to tell others how to live? Fascinating time, a captivating woman, a compelling story.
April 23, 2021
This was an excellent book. It was just the right balance for a biography without it being too heavy and too detailed and because of that actually gave you an emotional picture of an amazing woman. She really did serve humanity.
I like the way that it was written and interspersed with historic events/details and other people’s letters/diaries at the time. It also gave an insight to how tough it was to be a nurse in those times - they very much were treated as servants and as if they didn’t have their own lives running in parallel.
Her life story was also interesting to me because she was born just up the road and I have seen the statue of her outside the Norwich Cathedral many times. I came away feeling very moved by the book and it makes you evaluate your own actions to help others. My only worry was that she may not have had enough joyful times in her life. I think her life was very much a struggle and I think this is largely down to women people were treated in nursing and governess roles. I do think a highlight for her was being put forward to lead the Belgian school of nursing. It obviously meant north a lot to her so I hope that gave her life joy. Obviously this does nothing to deter from the biography but more observations about what I learned about the Edith. All in all though she was an amazing inspiration and thank you Diana for telling her story.
I like the way that it was written and interspersed with historic events/details and other people’s letters/diaries at the time. It also gave an insight to how tough it was to be a nurse in those times - they very much were treated as servants and as if they didn’t have their own lives running in parallel.
Her life story was also interesting to me because she was born just up the road and I have seen the statue of her outside the Norwich Cathedral many times. I came away feeling very moved by the book and it makes you evaluate your own actions to help others. My only worry was that she may not have had enough joyful times in her life. I think her life was very much a struggle and I think this is largely down to women people were treated in nursing and governess roles. I do think a highlight for her was being put forward to lead the Belgian school of nursing. It obviously meant north a lot to her so I hope that gave her life joy. Obviously this does nothing to deter from the biography but more observations about what I learned about the Edith. All in all though she was an amazing inspiration and thank you Diana for telling her story.
May 29, 2021
Following the life of an extraordinary woman from her childhood in rural England to her death by firing squad in Belgium. She cared for and treated so many, she taught and inspired many more. Her life left a legacy still felt in nursing today. This book is an interesting and detailed account of her life.
September 7, 2025
An incredible detailed biography giving amazing insight into Edith Cavell's life. I accidentally came across this, and as a nurse myself I am saddened to know I had not heard of her before. I will make sure her story, and martyrdom, is remembered. Definitely up in the top 3 most important women of the 20th century.
March 25, 2025
Well researched biography, which tells the Edith Cavell story with particular emphasis on her ‘crimes’, trial and execution. The ramifications of her martyrdom are explored from both the British and German perspective. An interesting and thought provoking read.
June 3, 2017
Loved this book and the history of the girl behind the woman and the sensationalism of her murder. I believe in her care and concern for all and her biggest problem was the inability to lie.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2019
Excellent biography
June 27, 2021
A thoroughly researched and beautifully written biography. It was it was interesting to read of the early life, training and work of this devoted and unassuming person.
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December 31, 2024Very interesting read
August 3, 2016
Didn't read this as deeply as it deserved because I was really just wanting to hit the highlights of Edith Cavell's life in WW1 as a nurse and a supposed spy because her name came up a few times in Kristen Hannah's book "Nightingale" as the character Isabelle's heroine. She really wasn't a spy in the normal definition of a spy; she was a nurse who just wanted to help people and in doing that, nursing and getting soldiers back over the border to safe places, she became what they called a spy and was shot to death after a fast and very unfair trial.
Sad story about a quiet woman who just wanted to do good. If I had had more time, would have liked to have read this book a little more closely.
Sad story about a quiet woman who just wanted to do good. If I had had more time, would have liked to have read this book a little more closely.
April 26, 2013
VERY, very detailed bio almost to the point of tedium (you can gloss over some of the text and still not lose any of the story) but in the grand scheme of things serves to show you the complete injustice around Edith Cavell's death. She was indeed a role model. Would she do it again. She would have. Unfortunately these kinds of things happen in war. The manner of her questioning, trial, sentencing and execution were inexcusable but the bullies were in the end beaten.
October 26, 2015
Edith Cavell is such an amazing figure and so little known, both for her brilliance at managing others and her stomach for work that almost no women had fully faced before. This book is well worth reading for the education it provides about one of the most prominent women during the First World War. Occasionally it flags or could provide more analysis, but overall it is a fine introduction to Cavell's remarkable life.
October 1, 2012
I'm in two minds about this book. It was very interesting, and clearly well-researched. I think the main problem is with the sheer unknowability of Edith Cavell herself. As Souhami makes clear through the book Cavell's manner was off-putting and did her no favours in her life. Unfortunately it also does her no favours in this biography.
July 13, 2012
Great book, that includes the early life of Edith Cavell, her links to Norwich and the banking / construction industries.
Later, it made me think of survival in difficult times and with little resources.
Later, it made me think of survival in difficult times and with little resources.
December 14, 2012
An excellent well researched book on Edith Cavell.
The conclusions seemed wrong to me as there was a war on
and what she did certainly deserved the death penalty.
And the glorification after was to my mind disturbing and
well well overdone.
The conclusions seemed wrong to me as there was a war on
and what she did certainly deserved the death penalty.
And the glorification after was to my mind disturbing and
well well overdone.
December 6, 2017
What a gripping read
Firstly the account of what life was like in a small norfolk village a hundred years ago
Then onto how the sheltered daughter of a vicar could through her sense of rightness and duty become drawn into helping allies escape to safety
Firstly the account of what life was like in a small norfolk village a hundred years ago
Then onto how the sheltered daughter of a vicar could through her sense of rightness and duty become drawn into helping allies escape to safety
July 19, 2014
As an American I had not heard of Edith Cavell. However, I kept running across her name in books I was reading and came across this book. Well written, riveting and I was so impressed with this woman's moral compass. She certainly made the ultimate sacrifice in the Great War.
July 17, 2016
The editor of this book should be sacked as there are so many irrelevant paragraphs and side stories of other people in it. If the editor had done a proper job, the book would be at least a 100 pages shorter and more concise.
April 8, 2011
A very informative biography
December 26, 2011
If you like biography this is good. I came away with a clear picture what who she was, but I still finds bits of the story inexplicable.
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