"With grim determination, she marched out with her head held high, unsure of what might happen next but suddenly determined that she would win them all over, that as a woman she would take this job no matter what, a small act of defiance towards those who had belittled her. Whatever would be would be".
A New Doctor at Orchard Cottage Hospital by Lizzie Lane is a captivating historical novel, set in 1930.
Blurb:
A country town in need of a good Doctor, but will they accept her as one of their own?
Somerset, March 1930.
Born in the workhouse and adopted by a former suffragette, Frances Brakespeare was encouraged from an early age to be strong, independent and to pursue a career as a doctor. The tragic loss of the love of her life in the Great War propels Frances to commit to her one true vocation.
Rebelling against the unfair treatment of female doctors, Frances is dismissed from her London post and things continue to take a turn for the worse when Izzy, her benefactress dies and Frances finds herself homeless.
With no employment or roof over her head, her future seems uncertain until she's offered a residency at the Orchard Cottage Hospital in Norton Dene, Somerset, a town where quarrying and coal mining scar the land.
It is a far cry from London, and town's narrow minds are not so welcoming of a young, female Doctor, but she's determined to win through.
At first sight the town seems quaintly old-fashioned, a place where nothing much happens but there are secrets and sins bubbling beneath the surface plus a mystery she's determined to solve.
When Frances Brakespeare loses her job at St Aldelm Hospital, she finds herself in a quandary. Her situation is very precarious. Her adoptive mother, Miss Izzy, has died, and Frances becomes homeless.
Looking for professional positions in the paper, she comes across an adevtisement, "Resident Doctor required. Orchard Cottage Hospital, Norton Dene, Somerset. Duties to be wide ranging. Accommodation supplied. A basic stipend of three hundred and fifty guineas is payable."
This position would solve so many problems for Frances, were she employed as the local doctor.
Norton Dene is a small community, and people are not used to an idea of a woman doctor. Not everyone is happy about the big changes. Frances meets quite an opposition, and has to navigate a lot of undercurrents which she cannot understand at first. Along the way, she makes new friends and comes up with great ideas for the hospital
Frances is passionate about her job, but she is lacking in diplomacy skills. While understandable that her feathers have been ruffled during the interview, she is ready to flounce out without trying to prove her point. She appears to be prickly and awkward, no wonder, the committee might see her as being problematic.
There is a great gallery of supportive characters, each adding a realistic touch to the story.
Take Miss Izzy, a former suffragette, who pours all her love and stalled ambitions into raising her adopted daughter. Living through the great injustice and heartache, she has high hopes for Frances. Encouraging her to be independent, in a way Izzy lives her own life through her daughter's, at times being resentful and even hostile when she thinks Frances is making a mistake.
The novel has strong female protagonists from different social backgrounds and age groups.
The Norton Dene womenfolk, Lucy, Nancy, Ma Skittings, the formidable Lady Araminta Compton-Dixon, chairman of the hospital trust - their personal stories portray the challenges women faced in-between the wars.
Loved the story setting, it gave me the vibes of Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman (TV series that I used to watch in the 1990s).Though the setting is different (both the historical period and country), it also addresses the issue of gender, and the obstacles professional women faced in the male-dominant world. Both doctors are strong characters, who need to fight againts prejudices.
A New Doctor at Orchard Cottage Hospital is a beautiful evocative story, full of secrets and emotions, with a likeable protagonist and lashings of romance to come. Utterly compelling.
This post is part of the blog tour for A New Doctor at Orchard Cottage Hospital.
Many thanks to Lizzie Lane, Boldwood Books and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!
Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/anewdoctorsocial
Author Bio –
Lizzie
Lane was born and brought up in one of the toughest areas of Bristol, as the eldest
of three siblings. Her mother, who had endured both the depression and war
years, was a natural born storyteller, and it's from her telling of actual
experiences of the tumultuous first half of the twentieth century that Lizzie
gets her inspiration. Lizzie now lives in Bath, preferring to lead a simple
life where she can write without interruption.
Social Media Links –
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