Florence Nightingale at First Hand

Florence Nightingale is one of the most famous figures in modern history. Yet much of what we know of her emanates from unreliable second-hand accounts, and from a misreading of the primary sources. Lynn McDonald, editor of Nightingale's Collected Works, and the world's foremost Nightingale authority, aims to put this right. This is a book which reports what Florence Nightingale said and did, based on her writing, of which a massive amount survives, scattered in over two hundred archives throughout the world. Published to commemorate the centenary of Nightingale's death, McDonald's study presents a Florence Nightingale for the 21st century, as an author of great style and wit, a systems thinker and pioneering public health reformer--the heroine and nurse were only the start.--From publisher description.