This book presents a new examination of Victorian nurses which
challenges commonly-held assumptions about their character and
motivation. Nineteenth century nursing history has, until now,
concentrated almost exclusively on nurse leaders, on the development of
nursing as a profession and the politics surrounding registration. This
emphasis on big themes, and reliance on the writings of nursing's upper
stratum, has resulted in nursing history being littered with
stereotypes. This book is one of the first attempts to understand, in
detail, the true nature of Victorian nursing at ground level.
Uniquely, the study views nursing through an economic lens, as opposed
to the more usual vocational focus. Nursing is placed in the wider
context of women's role in British society, and the changing prospects
for female employment in the high Victorian period. Using St George's
Hospital, London as a case study, the book explores the evolution of
nurse recruitment, training, conditions of employment and career
development in the second half of the nineteenth century. Pioneering
prosopographical techniques, which combined archival material with
census data to create a database of named nurses, have enabled the
generation - for the first time - of biographies of ordinary nurses.
Sue Hawkins' findings belie the picture of nursing as a profession
dominated by middle class women. Nursing was a melting pot of social
classes, with promotion and opportunity extended to all women on the
basis of merit alone. This pioneering work will interest students and
researchers in nursing history, the social and cultural history of
Victorian England and women's studies.
