Never got past the first chapter; must try again ( )

I read this biography in the hopes of shedding the cliche Florence Nightingale has inadvertently become in my mind. The very name conjures up a saintly figure of epic kindness. A woman with angel wings and endless patience. Someone with a glowing halo and endless caring calm. I wanted Bostridge's biography to turn an otherwise glossy icon into flesh and bone with faults and no-so-saintly feelings. It turns out, the public did a lot to add to the "lady with the lamp" mythology for when the desperate attach an attribute like hope to a person, the image becomes angelic. Such was the desperation of soldiers during the Crimean War. The lamp Nightingale often carried beat back the darkness (and encroaching fear of death) with its soothing soft glow. Elizabeth Gaskell called her a saint. John Davies implied she was a goddess with a magic touch.
Tidbits of interesting not-so-saintly information I enjoyed learning: from an early age Nightingale wanted to care for the sick. She was not shy about voicing her criticism regarding hospital conditions: defective ventilation and horrid sanitation practices. She didn't get along well with others as her persistence for improved conditions irked administrators far and wide. Through and despite all that, like a modern day celebrity craze, there was a insatiable demand for her likeness. Portraits of her cropped up everywhere. People were writing music about her. By 1855 people were naming boats and buildings after her.
Trivial details: Nightingale traveled through Egypt to Cairo with budding author Gustave Flaubert by sheer coincidence. She made Elizabeth Gaskell's acquaintance. She had a sister who lost her identity in the shadow of Florence's greatness. Florence made unusual animals her pets, a cicada and and owl.
There is no doubt Florence Nightingale: the Making of an Icon is the result of meticulous research. ( )

This biography of Nightingale focuses on the health care reform work that occupied the last 50 years of her long life. Administrative reform isn't the most romantic subject, but the case is easily made that Nightingale saved many more lives through her tireless promotion of the proper nursing education, of rational hospital design, and most of all of the importance of hygiene (and preventative medicine in general) than she did in the nursing work she performed during the Crimean war which was to bring her so much fame. This warts-and-all portrayal show her to be a far more fascinating figure than the saintly caregiver fetishised by 19th century sentimentalists—fiercely intelligent; a tireless lobbyist; a pragmatist and empiricist when it came to nursing education and hospital design, with little time for theory; an enthusiastic promoter of social statistics and data visualisation—all of these sides to Nightingale would seem to me to be more attractive to modern readers than to her 19th century contemporaries whose concept of the feminine ideal was that of a wife and mother. ( )

I had high expectations for this book as I generally enjoy reading biographies of women and remember being interested in Florence Nightingale as a child. Unfortunately this book did not live up to my expectations. Part of the issue for me was the writing style. I found it dry and thought it could have been edited down a bit.

It is a long biography, exploring all of Nightingale's life from childhood through old age. I did find Nightingale's views on nursing interesting. She believed in cleanliness above all else and did not think that nurse's should be trained in medicine, but that they should be caregivers and keep the hospital in order. She also was adamant that there should be a female head nurse in charge of a small group of nurses. The doctors were not very connected to the nurses at all. Running through the entire biography is a study of Nightingale's spirituality. I was surprised by how much of the book dwells on this topic. Although it was obviously a large part of Nightingale's life, I felt that the discussion of spirituality occupied too much of the book. I ended up not really liking Nightingale much at all, which was not what I expected. Although I learned a lot about early nursing and Florence Nightingale, the book was not as enjoyable as I had hoped. ( )

A few months ago, I was sent a proof copy of this book, which came in at just under 550 words. The published hardback version also includes illustrations, and is a massive 672 pages!

In his introduction, Mark Bostridge explains how he has been aided by the gradual appearance of many of Florence Nightingale's selected writings, as well as his research in the unpublished archive of Nightingale family papers. It's obvious just how much work has gone into his book, and it is both detailed and informative.

It is a long, detailed book, and yet it is incredibly readable. It covers everything you can imagine, from Florence Nightingale's family, her time in the Crimean War, her reforms to nursing, and finishes by exploring her role as an icon.

Although this is such a big book, it has been divided into sections, and it is possible to read them separately. Although reading about her family background, and her life growing up will give you that wider understanding of her character as a whole, the sections based around the Crimean War, and those about her health reforms could be read independently.

Being a nurse myself, and having worked at St Thomas's, the nursing section was the most interesting to me. Florence was never interested in nurses carrying out any medical duties, but her passion was on cleanliness - oh how things have changed! It's also interesting to see how early a paid register was in place for nurses.

This is a detailed work, which is highly readable, and offers content suitable for many people - it would be a great buy for anyone with an interest in any aspect of Florence Nightingale's life, and for nurses today, who wish to learn a little more about the background of their profession.