Review: The Nurses' War

Title: The Nurses' War

Author: Victoria Purman

Publisher: 30th March 2022 by Harlequin Australia & HQ Fiction

Pages: 600 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, World War II

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

There is more than one way to fight a war...An extraordinary story of grit, love and loss, based on the true history and real experiences of Australian nurses in World War 1. In 1915, as World War 1 rages in Europe and the numbers of dead and injured continue to grow, Australian nurse, Sister Cora Barker, leaves her home in Australia for England, determined to use her skills for King and country. When she arrives at Harefield House - donated to the Australian Army by its expatriate Australian owners - she helps transform it into a hospital that is also a little piece of home for recuperating Australian soldiers.

As the months pass, her mission to save diggers lives becomes more urgent as the darkest months of the war see injured soldiers from the battlefields of France and Belgium flood into Harefield in the thousands. When the hospital sends out a desperate call for help, a quiet young seamstress from the village, Jessie Chester, steps up as a volunteer. At the hospital she meets Private Bert Mott, a recuperating Australian soldier, but the looming threat of his return to the Front hangs over them. Could her first love be her first heartbreak?

Cora's and Jessie's futures, their hearts and their lives hang in the balance as the never-ending wave of injured and dying soldiers threatens to overwhelm the hospital and the hopes of a nation rest on a knife edge. The nurses war is a war against despair and death, fought with science and love rather than mustard gas and fear - but can they possibly win it? And what will be the cost?

My Thoughts

I am always eager to read Victoria’s books as I reliably come away so much richer for the experience. Her previous tales are testimony:  The Women’s Pages had me googling and reminiscing on my mother’s life stories; The Last of the Bonegilla Girls saw me actually paying a visit to Bonegilla! So it was with great anticipation that I started her latest, The Nurses’ War.

The story moves at a steady pace over an extended time period, thus allowing connections to form with the lead characters. Connections of empathy and understanding for all they would endure and experience. At first it was much like an adventure to arrive at a new hospice located in a beautiful English Manor. However, things soon change with the arrival of the first patients.

‘Sometimes it was a shock to wake in the morning with the realisation that 

another day had dawned and she would have to do it all again.’

The Nurses' War is a story based on real events and experiences of Australian nurses in WWI. Being based on fact always makes it hit home that much harder. Victoria’s writing certainly brings the human face to the horrors that were witnessed at Harefield House and beyond. Still, it is all dealt with compassionately but realistically, as Victoria does not shy away from the reality of the situation. These were people who demonstrated such bravery and courage with incredible strength of character that, at times, what you read is startling, sobering and heartbreaking. 

‘When she closed her eyes, she still saw destruction and waste and agonies. She saw her boys: the shattered ones. The limbless ones. The faceless ones … She saw wooden huts and duckboards and mud and rain and the beautiful English summer sunshine. 

All of it was still with her, and would forever be.’

I love learning about and from history and once more, Victoria has taken her readers on an incredible journey. I was unfamiliar with the story behind this hospital and in awe of not only the conditions they worked under but the sheer volume of what confronted these nurses on a daily basis. The research, once again Victoria, is astounding and presented in the most impactful way. This is a must read for all historical WWII historical fiction fans. 

‘Harefield is like a mansion of broken hearts ...' 

Letter from an Australian soldier, 7 September 1916   

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.