Scan barcode
crafti_kate's review against another edition
4.0
The Water Horse was a fantastic read and definitely deserves all the praise it can get.
I'm a huge fan of anything to do with medical history, so this book was a real treat for me.
Florence Nightingale for me, was a name I recognised yet did not know a huge amount about, but after reading The Water Horse I know a little more and I'm very interested to find out more about the Crimean War and Florence Nightingale, as well as doctors and nurses in that era.
Considering that Julia Gregson based the story of this book on a plaque, she did an amazing job. The characters in the book are very well detailed, very realistic and give the reader a deep insight into what life was like in those times for both men and women, who seemed to originate from different worlds and what happens when a young woman decided to break that mould.
The story is gripping and filled with adventure, you're never sure what the main female's ambition is going to push her to do next! There's a good dose of love and heartache in here too, which adds all the more to the atmosphere. The detail of the medical procedures was a little lacking, but it did not detract from the story, and the conditions described in the medical 'hospitals' were much more detailed and also more important to the storyline.
I adored this book and will be reading more of Gregson's work in the future.
I'm a huge fan of anything to do with medical history, so this book was a real treat for me.
Florence Nightingale for me, was a name I recognised yet did not know a huge amount about, but after reading The Water Horse I know a little more and I'm very interested to find out more about the Crimean War and Florence Nightingale, as well as doctors and nurses in that era.
Considering that Julia Gregson based the story of this book on a plaque, she did an amazing job. The characters in the book are very well detailed, very realistic and give the reader a deep insight into what life was like in those times for both men and women, who seemed to originate from different worlds and what happens when a young woman decided to break that mould.
The story is gripping and filled with adventure, you're never sure what the main female's ambition is going to push her to do next! There's a good dose of love and heartache in here too, which adds all the more to the atmosphere. The detail of the medical procedures was a little lacking, but it did not detract from the story, and the conditions described in the medical 'hospitals' were much more detailed and also more important to the storyline.
I adored this book and will be reading more of Gregson's work in the future.
rham_1's review against another edition
4.0
The book was... A literally an open gate to another world, no, an open gate to Catherine's eyes, the book made me feel as if I WAS Catherine, as if I LIVED in that era, the dystopian atmosphere went straight to my heart and took me into Catherine's world. Catherine taught me so much, though she was not away from the idea of "not the typical girl of her time, she's rebellious, she's wild, she must be disciplined, and that's what makes her cool". She taught me what independence really means, what it means for an eighteen year old girl to live by herself during wars and where danger is the core trait of her time, she taught what it feels like when you go through so much experiences. The author knew how to describe Catherine's fear, sadness, dullness, the fire in her eyes. The book was outstanding!!
janbooks's review against another edition
2.0
This had been on my to read list for a while. The premise was interesting. Set during Crimean war, it was about the first group of female nurses to go to war, led by Florence Nightingale. There was a bit too much detail for me. The underlying story was good, but could have been more condensed. I do like the way she writes though I struggled to get through the last third.
kingfan30's review against another edition
3.0
I have to admit that any title with horse in gets my attention straight away (still a child at heart!). At the start I wasn't sure about the book, Catherine comes across pretty irritating and doesn't seem to give a lot of thought to anyone else. But once she made her selfish decision to leave and become a nurse, things got a bit more interesting. The introduction of Florence Nightingale threw me a bit, but I soon got my head round it. The description of life in the Crimea hospital were pretty awful, I dont know that much about that war to know how factually correct it was, but it was certainly an eye opener. Ultimately it is a love story though, that was quite a quick read.
novellenovels's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
More...