Florence Nightingale: The Courageous Life of the Legendary Nurse

by Catherine Reef

Overview

Most people know Florence Nightingale was a compassionate and legendary nurse, but they don’t know her full story. This riveting biography explores the exceptional life of a woman who defied the stifling conventions of Victorian society to pursue what was considered an undesirable vocation. She is best known for her work during the Crimean War, when she vastly improved gruesome and deadly conditions and made nightly rounds to visit patients, becoming known around the world as the Lady with the Lamp. Her tireless and inspiring work continued after the war, and her modern methods in nursing became the defining standards still used today. Includes notes, bibliography, and index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544535800
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	11/08/2016
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	111,131
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	1050L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Catherine Reef is the author of more than 40 nonfiction books, including many highly acclaimed biographies for young people. She lives in College Park, Maryland. Visit her online at catherinereef.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/03/2016
Best recognized for her work during the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) receives full credit for her most far-reaching accomplishment in this lucid, handsomely designed volume: transforming nursing from an unsavory profession for women into a respectable one. Veteran biographer Reef (Noah Webster: Man of Many Words) provides abundant background on Nightingale’s family and the Victorian era, making vividly clear how revolutionary her work was. (Prior to Nightingale’s insistence that dirty bandages, putrid water, and foul food had no place in a hospital, eight of nine British soldier deaths were due to disease, rather than wounds.) Drawing extensively on primary sources, Reef reveals Nightingale’s complex character—highly intelligent and inquisitive, demanding, irascible, and driven by her belief in God’s work—and does not minimize the impact of her ambitions and expectations on her family and colleagues. Reef sharply delineates Nightingale’s enormous suffering for her refusal to follow convention while celebrating her lesser-known achievements: founding the first secular nurse-training school, advising government leaders on topics of health and social welfare, and applying statistics to medical analysis. Archival photos and illustrations further contextualize Nightingale’s life, work, and era. Ages 12–up. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

* " With careful contextualization that sometimes goes missing from purely hagiographic presentations, this title offers a fuller picture of the effort and emotional price Nighingale paid to become a groundbreaker."
—Bulletin, starred review


• "A vividly written, richly layered portrait of a fascinating woman whose life and work influenced and inspired many."
—Kirkus, starred review


• "A captivating and inspiring study of one woman’s perseverance and the good that came from it."
—Booklist, starred review


• "A lucid, handsomely designed volume."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"With accessible language, a linear story line, and photographs interspersed throughout, this is a great addition to any library. Recommended for students writing reports and others who want to learn about the remarkable 'Lady with the Lamp.'"
—School Library Journal

"...well written and thorough..."
—VOYA

From the Publisher

Born in 1820, Florence Nightingale was raised comfortably but was aware that she was expected to marry for her family’s financial security. Her interest in caring for others began early, and while she was young it was encouraged by her parents. As she grew up, Nightingale began to realize that she was not cut out for marriage, and her compulsion to care for others became a point of contention. As the British became more involved in the Crimean War and troops died because of improper care, Nightingale knew this was her opportunity to devote herself to the sick. She learned nursing techniques and became an authority on nursing during the nineteenth century. At a time when women were discouraged from working outside the home, Nightingale defied expectations and paved the way for women in all professions. Told chronologically, this biography is well written and thorough without being boring or overly long. The author delves into the obstacles Nightingale faced in her single-minded pursuit, and the tolls it took on her emotionally. The photographs were chosen carefully and add depth and understanding to the story. While the author paints a generous portrait of Nightingale, she does not omit or gloss over her subject’s character defects. Historical events are explained in layman’s terms and will be understood by middle-grade readers. An annotated bibliography with recommended sources would have been welcome, but the citations and notes are thorough. The text is easy to read, and while this is a book that will be used for academic purposes, it has a place in public as well as school libraries. Reviewer: Morgan Brickey; Ages 11 to 15.

VOYA, April 2017 (Vol. 40, No. 1) - Morgan Brickey

There is so much more to the famous “Lady with the Lamp” than her service as a nurse during the Crimean War (1853-1856). Florence Nightingale believed God had called her to serve, and she became willing to defy her family and the Nineteenth Century British dictates and customs in order to follow her calling. Events of her childhood, her difficult relationship with her sister and parents, and the assistance of other relatives and family friends are recounted as the reader learns of Nightingale’s important contributions to improving health care in the British army, the establishment of nursing schools, and the beginning of the modern nursing profession. Reef synthesizes her vast research, creating a biography that is well-organized, clearly written, and (most of all) fascinating. Drawings and photographs add additional information. Well-documented notes, a bibliography, and index are included in the back. Highly recommended for all libraries. Reviewer: Sharon Salluzzo; Ages 12 up.

Children's Literature - Sharon Salluzzo

09/01/2016
Gr 7 Up—Born into a wealthy English family in 1820, Florence Nightingale was expected to marry and tend to the home. Nightingale, however, had different ideas and felt that she had been called to action by God. Reef's meticulously researched biography chronicles Nightingale's remarkable achievements. Her revolutionary approach to nursing impacted all aspects of English society, from soldiers in the army to the impoverished people suffering in workhouse infirmaries. By placing Nightingale's life within the context of the Victorian era—a time of great colonial expansion as well as economic and scientific change—Reef highlights her subject's unique single-minded drive to work and make a difference for the sick and infirm, despite the many obstacles she faced as a woman. Nightingale became famous during the Crimean War when she spent two years with a team of nurses under her direction caring for wounded and ill soldiers. However, her reform work began long before the war and continued until her death at age 90. VERDICT With accessible language, a linear story line, and photographs interspersed throughout, this is a great addition to any library. Recommended for students writing reports and others who want to learn about the remarkable "Lady with the Lamp."—Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn

School Library Journal

★ 2016-08-02
This complex portrait of the “Lady with the Lamp” offers an insightful look into the remarkable life and work of Florence Nightingale and the times in which she lived. Nightingale was born into a privileged life to enlightened parents who embraced formal education for women and intellectual curiosity. Her parents were less than forward-thinking about her desire to pursue a nursing career, however. Through this struggle and attention to Nightingale’s relationships with women, Reef reveals how her subject defied the rigid conventions of Victorian society and the expectations of women. Reef is honest about Nightingale’s faults. She was cold and demanding of her underlings, insisting upon total obedience. Conversely, she had boundless compassion and mercy for the suffering. Her ambition and controlling personality led her to campaign to be placed in charge of all nursing services in the Crimea. Nightingale is best known for her work during the Crimean War, when she vastly improved gruesome and lethal conditions, dramatically reducing the mortality rate for soldiers. Her modern methods in nursing became defining standards still used today. This legacy receives generous attention, but it is the other aspects of her life Reef covers that make this a complete, nuanced biography. A vividly written, richly layered portrait of a fascinating woman whose life and work influenced and inspired many. (photos, source notes, bibliography) (Biography. 12-18)

Kirkus Review