Nightingale's Nuns and the Crimean War - by Terry Tastard (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Infectious disease, wounded and dying soldiers, and a shortage of supplies were the daily realities faced by the nuns who nursed with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War. This study documents their involvement in the conflict and how the nuns bore witness to the effects of carnage and official indifference, in many cases traumatized as a result.

This book reflects on the initiative and courage shown by the nuns and how their actions can be viewed as part of a wider movement among women in the mid-19th century to find fulfilment and assert control in their own lives. Nightingale's Nuns and the Crimean War also sheds light on how critics at the time accused many of the nuns of being secret agents of the Catholic Church who preyed on vulnerable soldier patients; there was a campaign in parliament to regulate and control convents. Terry Tastard shows how the nuns attempted to neutralize this anti-Catholicism, as well as charting the participation of Anglican nuns who had just begun an astonishing project to revive the religious life in the Church of England. Finally the book reveals new insights into Florence Nightingale's relationships with the nuns who nursed with her in Crimea and how these experiences impacted Nightingale's own perspective.

Review Quotes

"This captivating book provides a real insight into the wisdom, courage and humanity shown by vocational nuns working with Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War. A clear and effective account of the challenges working in compromised conditions for those on the frontline and for those who cared for them is told. At a time when women, moreover religious women, were unseen as worthy in this predominantly male hierarchical time, this book shows how they imparted acts of bravery, selflessness and humanity. This book highlights the phenomenal work and benevolence shown by these nuns, which won them the respect they so deservedly acclaimed during this time. A hugely enjoyable and worthy read." --Carmel Fitzsimons, Senior Lecturer in Adult Nursing, Middlesex University, UK

"Largely excluded from popular historical memory thanks to their gender and religious vows, this book recovers the stories of the nuns who worked alongside Florence Nightingale. Contextualizing their role during the Crimean War, it shows their importance within the development of nursing and the role of women in society." --James Kelly, Sweeting Associate Professor in the History of Catholicism, Durham University, UK

About the Author

Terry Tastard is Fellow at the Edward Cadbury Centre for Public Understanding of Religion, University of Birmingham, UK. He is also a priest of the Diocese of Westminster, UK and teaches in the seminary in Chelsea. Previous academic affiliations include Research Associate at St Edmund's College, University of Cambridge, UK and teaching at King's College London, UK. He is the author of Ronald Knox and English Catholicism (2009).