The Water Horse

The Water Horse

by JuliaGregson (Author)

Synopsis

Catherine Carreg has grown up a tomboy, spending her days racing her ponies with Deio, the drover's son, in a small Welsh village. When tragedy strikes her family, it affects Catherine deeply; she determines to become a nurse, in spite of the plans her father has made for her. With Deio's help, she disguises herself as a boy and makes her way to London. Catherine finds a position in a rest home for sick governesses in Harley Street, run by Miss Nightingale. When Russells's despatches from Scutari shock the Secretary for War into sending nurses to the Crimea, Catherine volunteers. The night before she leaves, she meets Deio in Hyde Park to tell him of her plans. Deio is furious with Catherine's 'unnatural ambitions', yet determines to follow her, shipping his beloved horses out for sale to the British army. Arriving in Scutari, Catherine is pitched into a living nightmare. The conditions are appalling, typhus is rife and the doctors are on the verge of insanity. As male paranoia takes hold, the nurses are confined to their quarters, forced to watch the arrival of wounded and dying soldiers but forbidden from helping them.When casualties from Balaclava begin to arrive, the women decide to ignore orders and begin nursing the sick and injured. Battling incompetence, lack of supplies and disease, Catherine must grow up quickly and painfully against traumatic events that will shape history. THE WATER HORSE is a vivid and compelling saga, bringing to life the true story of a young woman who ran away to nurse in the Crimea.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 400
Edition: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Orion
Published: 18 Nov 2004

ISBN 10: 0752865803
ISBN 13: 9780752865805
Book Overview: Julia Gregson weaves fact and fiction together, combining passionate storytelling, vivid characterisation and gritty historical detail. An impeccably researched debut, THE WATER HORSE is a compelling saga drawing on the true story of a young Welsh woman who ran away to nurse in the Crimea alongside Florence Nightingale. Published in the year of the 150th anniversary of the outbreak of the Crimean War. Julia Gregson is a natural storyteller who writes with tremendous warmth, colour and insight. THE WATER HORSE brings to life many historical figures from the mid-nineteenth century, including politicians, surgeons and Florence Nightingale.

Media Reviews
'lively, atmospheric novel... the writing is skillful, vivid and explicit' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Recent biography has debunked the romance of Florence Nightingale as angelic Lady of the Lamp ... Julia Gregson breathes life into this new interpretation.' GUARDIAN 'a wonderful evocation of the rugged Welsh coastline and Catherine's home life' HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
Author Bio
Julia Gregson has worked as a journalist in the UK and a foreign correspondent in Australia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and in the USA. - where she also worked for ROLLING STONE and THE NEW YORK TIMES. Her short stories have been published in collections and magazines - among others GOOD HOUSEKEEPING and literary review - and read on the radio. This is her first novel.