While I rarely read fiction, I reserved this historical novel from the Ottawa Public Library in the hope of getting a feel for the experience of my great uncle, Edward Cohen. I’d likely read an enthusiastic review.
A daring young woman who, against the wishes of her Yorkshire country doctor father and against the odds, earns a medical degree. Flouting convention, she risks everything to serve as a doctor on the front lines during World War I and learns life lessons in the darkest of times.
I struggled with the first few chapters. It seemed the women were all white hats and the men black hats. That changed as the story developed, not that it doesn’t maintain a feminist perspective.
Lecia Cornwall, the author and Alberta resident, has previously written romance novels. That comes through in her writing, somewhat too syrupy in places for my taste. However, I did gain the renewed appreciation for the situation in medical facilities near the front I sought and that Edward would have experienced in his final hours.
I finished the book in a few days — something that’s rare for books I borrow.
Title: The Woman at the Front
Author: Lecia Cornwall
Publisher : Berkley (Sept. 28, 2021)
Format: Paperback
Paperback : 448 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593197925
ISBN-13 : 978-0593197929
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/634183/the-woman-at-the-front-by-lecia-cornwall/
Thanks for this tip 🙂 Will definitely add this to the list for my library to buy (I do Collection Development for the Historical Fiction).