brookesbookstagram's review
4.0
TW: war, violence, death.
Cora, Gertie, Fiona, Leonora, Jessie. These women all hold a special place in my heart after following along their journeys whilst working and volunteering at Hereford House, a hospital outside of London, set up to care for injured Australian men during WWI.
The connection I made with these women really resonated deeply with me. The brave women willing to put themselves there and care, love and provide for these men coming off the front was just remarkable. I feel such honour in every person that volunteered in any capacity during the war.
I enjoyed Cora’s deep connection with her patients, the other women and the doctors. I cheered Jessie for putting herself out there to step out of her quiet little life to volunteer. I cried deeply at each loss, as if it was my own. Simply poignant and beautiful. I’m so glad I picked this one up.
Cora, Gertie, Fiona, Leonora, Jessie. These women all hold a special place in my heart after following along their journeys whilst working and volunteering at Hereford House, a hospital outside of London, set up to care for injured Australian men during WWI.
The connection I made with these women really resonated deeply with me. The brave women willing to put themselves there and care, love and provide for these men coming off the front was just remarkable. I feel such honour in every person that volunteered in any capacity during the war.
I enjoyed Cora’s deep connection with her patients, the other women and the doctors. I cheered Jessie for putting herself out there to step out of her quiet little life to volunteer. I cried deeply at each loss, as if it was my own. Simply poignant and beautiful. I’m so glad I picked this one up.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
'She had come to England to do a job and it was about to begin.’
In 1915, Cora Barker leaves her home in South Australia and travels with a group of other Australian nurses to establish a hospital for wounded Australian soldiers near London. The Great War is raging, and the number of Australian casualties continues to grow. At Harefield House, donated for use by the Australian Imperial Forces by its expatriate Australian owners, Cora and her colleagues Gertie, Leonora, and Fiona, transform the house into a hospital. The nurses are helped by local villagers, including Jessie Chester and her mother Win who are local seamstresses.
And as wounded soldiers continue to flood into the hospital from the battlefields of France and Belgium, Jessie volunteers at the hospital to support the patients and help the nurses. Jessie meets Private Bert Mott, a recovering soldier who will return to the front.
Everyone hopes for a short war, but the war drags on. Thousands of young soldiers are killed or maimed. The nurses are fighting both death and despair, struggling to maintain professional composure as they do the best they can for their patients. The soldiers, injured as they fight, are looked after by nurses who fight to save them.
There is romance in this story too, for some, and heartbreak. Not all stories have happy endings.
Ms Purman brings the period of the Great War to life: her nurses represent a range of different Australian backgrounds, as do the soldiers whom we mostly know through their injuries. The main characters are Cora and Jessie, showing us different aspects of life in a world at war. I became immersed in this novel, thinking of my grandfather and great-uncle, both of whom fought in the Great War and both of whom spent time in hospital in England before being repatriated to Australia in 1917.
Highly recommended.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
In 1915, Cora Barker leaves her home in South Australia and travels with a group of other Australian nurses to establish a hospital for wounded Australian soldiers near London. The Great War is raging, and the number of Australian casualties continues to grow. At Harefield House, donated for use by the Australian Imperial Forces by its expatriate Australian owners, Cora and her colleagues Gertie, Leonora, and Fiona, transform the house into a hospital. The nurses are helped by local villagers, including Jessie Chester and her mother Win who are local seamstresses.
And as wounded soldiers continue to flood into the hospital from the battlefields of France and Belgium, Jessie volunteers at the hospital to support the patients and help the nurses. Jessie meets Private Bert Mott, a recovering soldier who will return to the front.
Everyone hopes for a short war, but the war drags on. Thousands of young soldiers are killed or maimed. The nurses are fighting both death and despair, struggling to maintain professional composure as they do the best they can for their patients. The soldiers, injured as they fight, are looked after by nurses who fight to save them.
There is romance in this story too, for some, and heartbreak. Not all stories have happy endings.
Ms Purman brings the period of the Great War to life: her nurses represent a range of different Australian backgrounds, as do the soldiers whom we mostly know through their injuries. The main characters are Cora and Jessie, showing us different aspects of life in a world at war. I became immersed in this novel, thinking of my grandfather and great-uncle, both of whom fought in the Great War and both of whom spent time in hospital in England before being repatriated to Australia in 1917.
Highly recommended.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
busyreading's review
5.0
The Nurses’ War by Aussie author Victoria Purman is an extraordinary story. There is so much I want to say about this book, but I know my review will not do this book justice, so I’m going to keep this review short.
In my opinion, this book is historical fiction at its very best. Captivating, engrossing, heartwarming and heartbreaking are just a few of the things that come to mind to describe this amazing story. An outstanding and brilliant read and to appreciate the amount of research that has gone into this novel you need to read it if you haven’t already. If I could’ve given it a higher star rating I would have as it deserves far more than five. If you enjoy historical fiction then this book is a must for you. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
In my opinion, this book is historical fiction at its very best. Captivating, engrossing, heartwarming and heartbreaking are just a few of the things that come to mind to describe this amazing story. An outstanding and brilliant read and to appreciate the amount of research that has gone into this novel you need to read it if you haven’t already. If I could’ve given it a higher star rating I would have as it deserves far more than five. If you enjoy historical fiction then this book is a must for you. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
shelleyrae's review
4.0
Set in the first Australian Auxiliary Hospital established in Britain for the recuperation and rehabilitation for Australian soldiers during WWI, The Nurses’ War by Victoria Purman is an emotional story of service and sacrifice, based on true events.
In 1915, Nurse Cora Barker arrives from South Australia to staff a sixty-bed Australian convalescent hospital at Harefield Park, a country estate offered by Australian heiress and her husband for military use, on the outskirts of London. At age thirty-one Cora is an experienced nurse, eager to serve her country and provide care for the men injured in battle, but nothing has prepared her for the challenges of wartime nursing.
Within days of its opening on June 1st, the hospital was forced to expand its services for soldiers evacuated from the battlefields of Gallipoli, France and Serbia. By mid month the grounds of Harefield Park were home to more than a dozen hastily erected wards to accommodate 360 patients, barely a year later it housed over thousand, while thousands more had passed through its doors, having been discharged from duty due to injury or disease, or recovered and sent back to rejoin the fighting. With sensitivity and compassion, Purman details the daily operation of the hospital as Cora and her fellow nursing staff spend long shifts caring for men, many with gruesome physical injuries and fragile mental health, while contending with their own exhaustion, home sickness, and emotional distress. The determination of the nurses to do everything they can for ‘their boys’ is inspiring, and I loved learning about the ordinary, and extraordinary, work and achievements of the Number 1 AAH and its staff, thanks to Purman’s meticulous research. Three of my four great grandfathers served in the Australian forces during WWI and may well have passed through the hospital. (I’d be interested to know if a patient list exists, I couldn’t find one with a cursory search.)
It’s easy to feel for Cora as the war that was expected to be ‘over by Christmas’ drags on. Though she has support from her fellow nurses, Leonora, Gertie and Fiona, no one could truly be prepared for what was to come, and Purman explores how the Cora was changed by her experiences. It’s a subtle process as Cora gains a clearer understanding of the human costs of war, and lets go of some of the social strictures she was raised with. I really liked Cora’s unexpected relationship with surgeon Captain William Kent, and the support they were able to offer each other.
Introducing the perspective of Jessie Chester allows Purman to explore the effects of the war on the civilians of Britain. A young local seamstress, Jessie is a sweet character who lives with her widowed mother and palsied brother. I thought the development of her character was very well done, as the establishment of the Harefield Hospital brings an unexpected opportunity for romance, and a change of career.
I did feel the pacing was a little off, a casualty in part of the nearly five year timeline I think, and I felt there was some instances of repetition, however these are very minor quibbles that didn’t detract from my satisfaction with the story overall.
I found The Nurses’ War to be a moving, thoughtful and absorbing tribute to the women who served with courage and compassion.
In 1915, Nurse Cora Barker arrives from South Australia to staff a sixty-bed Australian convalescent hospital at Harefield Park, a country estate offered by Australian heiress and her husband for military use, on the outskirts of London. At age thirty-one Cora is an experienced nurse, eager to serve her country and provide care for the men injured in battle, but nothing has prepared her for the challenges of wartime nursing.
Within days of its opening on June 1st, the hospital was forced to expand its services for soldiers evacuated from the battlefields of Gallipoli, France and Serbia. By mid month the grounds of Harefield Park were home to more than a dozen hastily erected wards to accommodate 360 patients, barely a year later it housed over thousand, while thousands more had passed through its doors, having been discharged from duty due to injury or disease, or recovered and sent back to rejoin the fighting. With sensitivity and compassion, Purman details the daily operation of the hospital as Cora and her fellow nursing staff spend long shifts caring for men, many with gruesome physical injuries and fragile mental health, while contending with their own exhaustion, home sickness, and emotional distress. The determination of the nurses to do everything they can for ‘their boys’ is inspiring, and I loved learning about the ordinary, and extraordinary, work and achievements of the Number 1 AAH and its staff, thanks to Purman’s meticulous research. Three of my four great grandfathers served in the Australian forces during WWI and may well have passed through the hospital. (I’d be interested to know if a patient list exists, I couldn’t find one with a cursory search.)
It’s easy to feel for Cora as the war that was expected to be ‘over by Christmas’ drags on. Though she has support from her fellow nurses, Leonora, Gertie and Fiona, no one could truly be prepared for what was to come, and Purman explores how the Cora was changed by her experiences. It’s a subtle process as Cora gains a clearer understanding of the human costs of war, and lets go of some of the social strictures she was raised with. I really liked Cora’s unexpected relationship with surgeon Captain William Kent, and the support they were able to offer each other.
Introducing the perspective of Jessie Chester allows Purman to explore the effects of the war on the civilians of Britain. A young local seamstress, Jessie is a sweet character who lives with her widowed mother and palsied brother. I thought the development of her character was very well done, as the establishment of the Harefield Hospital brings an unexpected opportunity for romance, and a change of career.
I did feel the pacing was a little off, a casualty in part of the nearly five year timeline I think, and I felt there was some instances of repetition, however these are very minor quibbles that didn’t detract from my satisfaction with the story overall.
I found The Nurses’ War to be a moving, thoughtful and absorbing tribute to the women who served with courage and compassion.
janiscox's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A perfect book for a young woman having just gone through the pandemic, though this is set a little over a hundred years ago, I connected with it strongly.
paddlefoot55's review
5.0
It is not only those on the front line that win a war.
The Nurses' War gives us a look at what those behind the scenes, particularly nurses go through. It it poignant, heartbreaking, yet full of hope.
So much sacrifice by these nurses, so much pain.
Beautifully written, and will keep you thinking.
The Nurses' War gives us a look at what those behind the scenes, particularly nurses go through. It it poignant, heartbreaking, yet full of hope.
So much sacrifice by these nurses, so much pain.
Beautifully written, and will keep you thinking.
kirstieellen's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Injury/Injury detail