Isabella trained as a doctor in the early 20th Century, following in the footsteps of one of my childhood heroines, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, whose bravery and determination to become a doctor paved the way for women to study medicine. Working only with a small box of medical equipment, some old family photographs and a string of beads that belonged to her Grandmother, in a feat of detective work worthy of the great Lord Peter Wimsey, Katrina weaves the story of her grandmother’s service as a doctor during the First World War.
I don’t want to give too much away because you really need
to read this book, but I particularly enjoyed reading about Katrina’s journeys
to the places in which Isabella worked during WW1. In each place Katrina
describes imagining what those places would have looked like in WW1 and what
her Grandmother would have done and how she would have felt. She also has some very interesting interviews
with local inhabitants who try to help solve Isabella’s WW1 mysteries.
I also like the way Katrina chose to involve modern women
medical students, women doctors and women medics with the British Royal Army
Medical Corps who have seen active service.
This helps to establish how Isabella might have felt when she was
treating the wounded.
On p. 206, I was interested to read that In 1913, 4% of the
98 medical students at Edinburgh University were women; by 1918, the number had risen and 28% of the
1,700 odd students were women. And there
was a surprisingly heart-warming story of a French soldier who was to have his
foot amputated. Further on in the book,
when Isabella was posted to Malta, you will find more fascinating information,
for instance about enemy Prisoners of War detained on the island. Mention of the names of other women who were
doctors during WW1 and some of those who were nurses is also extremely
interesting.
I was also interested to see that Katrina had visited Hadra Cemetery in Alexandria, Egypt - see post on 12th December 1917 regarding the loss of HMS "Osmanieh".
I was also interested to see that Katrina had visited Hadra Cemetery in Alexandria, Egypt - see post on 12th December 1917 regarding the loss of HMS "Osmanieh".
I do hope Katrina will give me permission to write up an
exhibition panel about Isabella.
Exhibition panels are sent out via e-mail free of charge to any venue
wishing to host an exhibition. Topics covered are Female Poets, Inspirational
Women, Fascinating Facts (such as how the Laughing Cow got her name) and
Forgotten (male) Poets. For anyone
interested, I can supply the list of panels researched so far.
