The Black Florence Nightingale Autobiography of a Mary Seacole, a Black Nurse, and the Vivid Account of Her Role in the Crimean and Other Wars

Mary Seacole, "The Black Florence Nightingale" was once one of the best-known women in England. She was a Caribbean doctress who had travelled widely, and was able to put her skills to good use in the Crimean War. Denied the opportunity to work with Nightingale, she travelled there on her own to minister to wounded British soldiers. Thousands of them remembered her with gratitude and affection. "The Black Florence Nightingale" is the vivid account of the Crimean War experiences of Mary Seacole. It is also one of the earliest autobiographies of a mixed-race (Scottish and Jamaican) woman. Best known for her involvement in the Crimean War, Seacole set up and operated boarding houses in Panama and Crimea for treating the sick. Seacole was taught herbal remedies and folk medicine by her mother, who kept a boarding house for disabled European soldiers and sailors. Confident that her knowledge of tropical medicine could be useful, and after hearing of poor medical provisions for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, she travelled to London to volunteer as a nurse. Despite her desire to serve, Seacole was not among the part of 38 nurses chosen by Florence Nightingale. Undaunted, she borrowed money to make the 4,000-mile journey and distinguished herself treating the wounded. Often she nursed wounded soldiers from both sides, while under fire.