Ella Parker is extremely upset when her mother dies in childbirth, her father the Earl of Greenwoods doesn’t seem to care and he’s a difficult man. ElElla Parker is extremely upset when her mother dies in childbirth, her father the Earl of Greenwoods doesn’t seem to care and he’s a difficult man. Ella plans her escape, she doesn’t trust her father, and she assumes he will either marry her off or have her locked up in an institution.
Ella leaves Newcastle for London, aboard the Pamela, she meets the ships surgeon Doctor Joseph Pesce, he offers her a place to stay in London and he lives with his sister Matilda. Ella dreams of being a doctor, in the early 19th century in England, only two options are available for women involving medicine, one is to be a midwife and the other is to become a nun and devote her life to god and nursing the sick.
Ella learns a lot working alongside Doctor Pesce and she's not squeamish, unfortunately universities only accept male students to study medicine, and Ella changes her name, dresses as a young man and enrolls. Ella dissects cadavers, conducts experiments, cares for the sick, works in the maternity ward and overcomes her fear of childbirth and obstetrics. Ella’s friends with a fellow student Oliver Higgins, she tutors him and she admires the skills of the chief surgeon Doctor Richard Miller.
Ella has to make a decision about a patient, her actions save the young mans life and she’s now the top candidate to be Doctor Miller’s apprentice. Not only does Ella have to worry about her father finding her, she has to maintain her secret identity, if they discover she is a woman, Ella will be thrown out of medical school, she won’t be able to sit for her final exam and her skills will be wasted!
I received a digital copy of A Girl With A Knife from the author Alina Rubin and in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed reading the book, it highlighted the difficulties women faced becoming a doctor, the diagnosis, treatment and pain management options mentioned were relevant for the time, and the narrative explores new medical techniques and ideas around infection control when they were only theories. I can’t wait to read the next book in the Hearts and Sails series, No Job For A Woman, the perfect choice for readers who like medical inspired historical fiction and four stars from me....more
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