Christmas was not always great for Florence Nightingale, the pioneer of nursing and so many other public health works. In this bicentenary year of her birth in 1820, we head towards an insecure and problematic Yuletide, unsure who will pull our crackers (after sanitising!).
Some of us will get Coronavirus or learn of others succumbing to this foul infection as we hug family and share mince pies. If she were alive now, Nightingale would empathise with our situation. After all, she lived in an age of contagion with regular epidemics of flu, cholera and malaria. When she went out with her troupe of nurses to tend the wounded soldiers in the Crimean War of 1854-1856 she returned infected with brucellosis from unpasteurised milk. This left her an invalid for most of her life, suffering chronic pain and fatigue.
In Christmas 1861, she suffered a severe attack of her condition that continued until 1881. She could barely walk and was entirely bedridden. The condition had made her a permanent invalid yet she continued her mission, transforming the health of the nation while working from home, literally from her bed or chaise longue.
The new book, Florence Nightingale at Home, investigates how the concept and reality of home featured in Nightingale’s life and work. Professor Paul Crawford and his co-authors at the University of Nottingham, who led the research behind the book, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, commented:
"Like Nightingale in 1861 we may have a bad Christmas this year but her example shows that, with determination, we can overcome major challenges to contribute to society even from our beds.
"During our research we unearthed a lot of intimate details about Nightingale’s domestic life. Her family were keen to entertain others. We suspect this would very much be the case at Christmas at their very grand residence at Embley Park, Hampshire, where the inventory included twenty mince pie tins! We can only imagine that Nightingale insisted everyone washed their hands before diving in!"
Florence Nightingale at Home is available to order online. Published by Crawford, P., Greenwood, A., Bates, R. & Memel, J. (2020) London: Palgrave.