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A heroic woman is heralded in all aspects in this remarkable melding of fact and inventiveness. Edith Cavell was a young, spirited English woman when she was pressed to study nursing, after assisting her dying father. Her self-examining personality made schooling difficult, but as she moved from one work situation to another, including care for dying children and women in childbirth, she developed a sense of the meaning of life and death. Assigned to a newly formed nursing center in Belgium, she was suddenly swept into the throes of the First World War. She and her trusted companions gained a new perspective, meeting men who, deeply afflicted by war, wished to flee the country for a variety of reasons. Cavell became their covert assistant, even as she trained nurses, treated hundreds of war-wounded men, and saved many lives. But her subterfuge was gradually uncovered, with horrifying consequences.
Arthur, an award-winning medical professional, has offered assistance and education, like her heroine in this dynamic work, to fellow medical personnel. With multiple degrees, including a master’s in health business management, she is the only American and the only nurse to have honored Cavell in a literary framework. Arthur’s remarkable ability to combine creative outlooks and lively imaginings with established facts about this bold and heroic woman successfully brings Cavell’s achievements to a worldwide audience. The author avers that while most of the material in her dramatic narrative can be upheld by diligent research, she drew much detail from the well-known perils and practices of nurses in the field of battle in World War I. Through Arthur’s energetic presentation, Cavell is seen as an adventurous young person transformed into a determined and stoic leader, with a firm philosophy that would support her through daunting challenges, inspiring a lasting legacy.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review
An Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalist