In 1892, Sarah Gilchrist joins the University of Edinburgh's medical school. One of only a few women, she is determined to become a doctor, despite the misgivings of her family and society. There are plenty of barriers at school: professors who refuse to teach women, male students determined to force the women out, and even her female peers. Desperate for some additional education, Sarah volunteers at a charitable hospital for women. However, when one of the women she tends to there turns up as a battered corpse on the dissecting table, Sarah is determined to find out why. However, as she searches for the truth, she puts herself in great danger.
I found this to be an interesting book for a few reasons. Sarah is a well-written character and over the course of the story, she reveals more and more about herself. Hinting at something awful in her past, and the perception by some of her fellow female students as a fallen women, Sarah's struggles aren't just with her studies. I did sometimes wonder why she was so determined to investigate why this one young woman ended up on the dissection table, especially since so many women were treated at the clinic at which she volunteered. This was a good story and gave some insight into how difficult it was for women who wanted to study medicine (and the types of challenges they needed to overcome).
No comments:
Post a Comment