Book description
THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER!
"An exquisitely detailed journey through the harrowing field of medicine in mid-19th century London."-Tracey Enerson Wood, USA Today bestselling author of The Engineer's Wife and The War Nurse
An unforgettable historical fiction novel about one woman who believed in scientific medicine before the world believed in…
Why read it?
3 authors picked The Girl in His Shadow as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This book is so full of tension and grit that I found it hard to stop reading. One of the things this book does so well is plop me right in the middle of a plague. The darkness persists as the main character (Nora, an orphan idiosyncratically trained in medical skills like surgery and caring for patients) pokes her way through the medical field, seldom receiving credit for her abilities and skills because she’s not supposed to practice medicine. No woman is in the 1840s.
The book points inward toward Nora’s travels through unfairness where she does the work and…
From Isabel's list on female doctors.
Nora Beady is a great heroine. Even though she is living in the “shadow” of a doctor – women weren’t allowed to practice medicine in 1845 in England – she’s not cynical about it.
She just does the job Dr. Croft asks her to, and she cares a great deal about improving the health of others. Along the way, she falls in love, and her love interest is refreshingly supportive. I don’t usually care for stories where the characters are cynical and everyone is mean. Which is probably why I write romance!
I turned the pages in this book so…
The Girl in His Shadow is my favorite comparative fiction. Similar to my story, Nora Beady lives in England, at the time when woman couldn’t practice medicine. But Nora’s path is very different from Ella Parker’s. Nora is a secret assistant to famous Dr. Croft, but her position is threatened when Dr. Daniel Gibson joins the practice. Soon Dr. Gibson sees Nora’s value, and the two become friends and more. The novel is very well-researched, beautifully written, and kept me hooked to the end. This book is great for fans of woman’s fiction with a medical theme. Be ready for…
From Alina's list on making you glad for modern medicine.
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