"For a reader who has little knowledge of the timeline of the 19th and 20th century history, or the development of nursing into a recognisable profession, this book may be interesting and enlightening and lead them to wish to read more."

The North West History Journal - October/November 2023

As featured in

Scottish Field

An inspirational and fascinating biography of one of the most distinguished and important nursing pioneers of the last century.

Books Monthly

This book is written with a lot of facts and evidence which shows there has been a lot of research put into the book and it’s very well written.

Read the full review here

The History Fella

The book is well-written, includes black-and-white illustrations, and tells the remarkable life story of this nursing pioneer and reformer whose name deserves to be better known amongst healthcare professionals.

Read the review here

Dr Arpan Banerjee - Hektoen International Journal

This book is not what I expected, it was more, much more. This book was about Ethel Gordon Fenwick 1857-1947 in England and her fight to take nursing as a vocation to a profession. She started her calling early. At 24 she became the youngest matron (head nurse) at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London. She fought to bring training, professionalism and standardization to nursing.. Ethel went head to head with Florence Nightingale and Eva Luckes each having their own idea on what nursing should be.
This time period was meticulously documented in an interesting read. Jenny Main surrounds the fight with what was happening in the world such as woman's suffrage, electricity, cars and airplanes..She writes almost in parallel: what is happening with nursing alongside world events and inventions. Reads like a nonfiction book due to all the historical facts embedded in the book.

NetGalley, Debra Labruna

If you have any interest in medical history, nursing, social history or women's rights, this is the one book you have to read.
Excellently researched it covers not only what she did (and she did so much) but the social and political background surrounding her, Britain as well as the wider world at the time.
The most important part, for me, it's written non-judgmentally. Facts are simply stated.

spoiler alert, This remarkable woman transformed nursing and turned it into a proper profession laying the foundation for modern nursing.

Read the full review here

ARRSE (Army Rumour Service)

"As a retired nurse, who trained at a London hospital in the early 1970’s I found the book to be an excellent read and would recommend it to anyone interested in the achievements of this notable and great lady."

Alison Wall - Local history/ nursing and public health groups

As a nurse myself, it was interesting to see how far we have actually come, in a fairly short space of time. It horrifies me that anyone could call themselves a nurse, back in the day, despite not having had any training or really having much of a clue generally. That it took such a long time to get registration for nurses in place, is really astonishing. If not for determined women like Ethel Fenwick, this probably would not have happened at all. It is apt, that she was the very first registered nurse :)

I enjoyed reading this book and the little stories of what was going on in history at that point in time were very useful as well.

NetGalley, Monica Mac

I have been a nurse for a long time and loved learning more about Ethel Gordon Fenwick. This book is packed full of information and reads better than a textbook. I love how the chapters are divided by time periods to capture such a packed time frame. There were so many things to cover that would have impacted her career and her lifetime. I never felt overwhelmed or confused and thought things were explained very well. I really liked the coverage of contemporary events during her lifetime as it brought tremendous perspective to many events. I never considered her a contemporary to Nightingale and loved how they viewed the registry so differently, yet both had a heart and a passion to advance the profession of nursing. A truly enlightening book for all lovers of nursing history.

NetGalley, Brandi Rawlins

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Jenny Main has written a book that perfectly combines the career of an intrepid worker on behalf of nurses, and in many ways the medical profession, and an impressive social history of the period. I enjoyed the combination, making this a book that I shall enthusiastically read again.

NetGalley, Robin Joyce