As I’m a blogger, I received a copy of ‘Fetch Nurse Connie’ from the publisher in return for an honest review.
Anyone interested in the post-world war two period will just love this. Full of great little details that really bring the past to life, this is a page-turning saga in which we meet memorable characters, and learn a lot about nursing in 1945. Connie Byrne is a determined, staunch and upright young woman facing a demanding job, and a difficult relationship with a fiance who has returned from the war with a shock in store for her. Charlie is convincingly plausible as the unreliable and self-seeking fiance, with looks to melt your heart, and Connie’s nursing friends are real individuals not just cardboard cut-outs. Connie’s journey up the ladder of the nursing profession is a difficult one, but the book does not shy away from the sexism of the times, and from the harsh realities of life in the East End of London for poorer communities.
The interest in this novel is in immersing yourself in another time and period, and in the pre-NHS nursing system, all lovingly evoked by the author.
Jean’s Blog gives lots of interesting information about her research process.