Julia Boyd The Excellent Doctor Blackwell: The life of the first woman

When Britishborn Elizabeth Blackwell earned her medical degree in America in 1849 there was an international outcry. Few at the time would have disagreed with the actress Fanny Kembles remark What, trust a woman doctor never! Yet by the time Dr Blackwell died in 1910 there were hundreds of women practising medicine on both sides of the Atlantic, thanks in no small part to her courage and determination. Using a treasure trove of primary sources, the book reveals how Elizabeth Blackwells pioneering efforts helped to fundamentally change the status of women in the West. The Excellent Doctor Blackwell tells a remarkable story, taking in the womens rights movement, the American Civil War and Elizabeths personal tragedy, with a fascinating cast of characters, from Abraham Lincoln to Florence Nightingale. Praise for The Excellent Doctor BlackwellJulia Boyd resists the temptation to turn Blackwell into one of those oldfashioned feminist icons of the 1970s... the result is thorough and, above all, thoughtful The GuardianOne can only hope that this excellent biography of an excellent doctor will help garner Blackwell the renown she has always deserved New England Journal of MedicineJulia Boyds superb biography reveals B as a complex, tenacious and often frustrating character whose extraordinary singlemindedness changed our world Victorian GeekJulia Boyd worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum before accompanying her diplomat husband on various foreign postings. An accomplished... | Julia Boyd The Excellent Doctor Blackwell: The life of the first woman