Sister of the Great War

“Sisters of the Great War” by Suzanne Feldman 400 pages

Fans of the Civil War medical novel, “My Name is Mary Sutter” by Robin Olivia will love this World War I medical novel.

It’s 1914. America has yet to enter the Great War, but two American sisters, Ruth and Elise Duncan, are watching Europe implode in the Baltimore daily newspapers. They are desperate to unshackle the chains of conventional roles which society bounds them.

Ruth has grown up studying with her doctor father; she can make a diagnosis better then he…and most other doctors. However, society dictates that women cannot be doctors, so she is studying to be a nurse. She feels her talents are being wasted.

Elise is much like Ruth, but her talents lay in mechanics. She can take anything apart and put it back together. Elise is the household mechanic and keeps the family car her father needs for house calls in running shape. Her only prophecy for her future is to marry well and become a mother. 

As the war escalates, the girls want to volunteer to help. On his way to the front, Dr. John Doweling, the son of their father’s friends, stops to stay with the Duncan’s a few days before shipping out for Belgium. He gets to know the girls and encourages them to volunteer as American has yet to enter the conflict. 

Ruth goes as a nurse and Elisa as an ambulance driver. They are assigned to the front at Ypres. The conditions---living and working---are appalling. Author Feldman does an outstanding job in re-creating the Front. Be prepared to see, smell and hear the war as it unfolds around the sister. 

Each sister does have a love interest. For Ruth, it is the Englishman, Dr. John Doweling, who encouraged her to pursue her dreams. For Elise, it is Heda, another ambulance driver.

By the time I had reached the conclusion of “Sisters of the Great War,” I felt as if I had time-traveled back to this period and had participated in the war. Therefore, “Sisters of the Great War” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

 

No Comfort for the Lost: A Mystery of Old San Francisco

No Comfort for the Lost: A Mystery of Old San Francisco by Nancy Herrimann  384 pages

This is the first novel in the “A Mystery of Old San Francisco.” Author Herrimann introduces readers to his two main protagonists. First is Crimea veteran Celia Davies. She came to the States with her husband, Patrick, who promptly signed onto to a sailing vessel and has disappeared.

Celia, a recent immigrant from Great Britain, feels for the Chinese immigrants who often live in squalor. She opens a free clinic for the prostitutes, funded by her late uncle. She lives in the uncle’s house with her half-Chinese niece and an opinionated housekeeper. I believe the housekeeper was designed as comedic relief, but it missed the point.

When one of her patients, and a women Celia considered a friend, is found dumped in the Bay, Celia vows to find justice for Li Sha. She works, often to his dismay and in opposition of, with Detective Nicholas Greaves. Celia is more often than not, getting in way and continues to find herself in dangerous situations that could prove fatal to both herself and Nick.

No Comfort the Lost takes place in 1867. Herrimann does an excellent job in providing atmospheric details without cluttering the book with unimportant information. For me, the book lacked tension. I never felt that Celia and her entourage were in any real danger. I also felt that many of the situations were the same, just located in a different part of the city.

I did like how Herriman tackled immigration---most of San Francisco hated the Chinese and were ready to revolt, burning Chinatown and sending the foreigners packing. Give readers a look at how foreigners were viewed a hundred and fifty plus years ago.

I give No Comfort the Lost 3 out of 5 stars.