Product Description

Catherine Carreg has grown up a tomboy, spending her days racing her ponies with Deio, the drover's son, in a small Welsh village. But Catherine is consumed by a longing to escape the monotony of village life and, with Deio's help, runs away to London. Alone in the unfamiliar bustle of the city, Catherine finds a position in a rest home for sick governesses in Harley Street, run by Miss Florence Nightingale. Then, as the nation is gripped by reports of the war in the Crimea, Catherine volunteers as a nurse - and her life changes beyond all recognition. Arriving in Scutari, she is pitched into a living nightmare and, against the passion and heroism of one of the most traumatic wars in history, she is forced to grow up quickly and painfully, and learn the hardest lessons of love and war.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20259 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Sunday Telegraph . November 6th
The writing is skilful, vivid and so explicit that until quite recently an editor might have toned it down.

Review
"A vivid tale of love and war" (Fanny Blake WOMAN & HOME )

"lively, atmospheric novel...the writing is skillful, vivd and explicit" (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

"Recent biography has debunked teh romance of Florence Nightingale as angelic 'Lady of the Lamp'...Julia Gregson breathes life into this new interpretation" (GUARDIAN )

"a wonderful evocation of the rugged Welsh coastlne and Catherine's home life" (HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW )

The Guardian
Julia Gregson breathes life into this new interpretation

Customer Reviews

sweeping historical drama
Set during the Crimean war, this is the story of Catherine Carreg, a young woman who finds the restrictive life of small town mid-nineteenth century Wales oppressive, and longs to escape. After the death of her mother in childbirth, Catherine decides she needs to make a difference in the world, and runs away to London with local cattle drovers to train as a nurse. She trains in Florence Nightingale’s home for sick nurses, then volunteers to nurse in the hell that is the hospital at Scutari, on the mouth of the Black Sea. Beset by ignorance, antagonism and illness, Catherine must fight to learn the lessons of love and war.

I have never been particularly interested in this period of history, but Ms Gregson has brought it alive for me. The writing is fluent, the dirt and grime almost palpable, and the characters believable and sympathetic.

Amazing
What a compelling read - it was a thrill to all my senses, you could imagine yourself being there. It has been cleverly written drawing you into the characters, getting a sense of who they are and their experiences. You get absorbed - seeing the conditions in the hospital, the smell the horses and the streets of London and feel the swaying of the boat.

Amazing, if there's one book to read for this year it's this one. Enjoy.

A compelling story of love and hope in wartime
Although a love story set in the time of the Crimean War, this is much more than an historical romance. It doesn't shy away from the grim realities of life in the nineteenth century, both at war and back at home, yet is full of hope and beauty. I found myself utterly gripped by the journey of Catherine, the protagonist - a wonderful, feisty character - and fascinated by the account of what really went on in the hospitals in Scutari and Balaclava. A fantastic read.