The Sea Nurses: An absolutely heartbreaking wartime saga

by Kate Eastham

• ISBN10: 180314596X
• ISBN13: 9781803145969
• Publish Date: 6 June 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Bookouture
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 284
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jeff Sexton]

Atypical Tale That Pulls No Punches. While the WWI period isn't *quite* as common in historical fiction tales as WWII, it is hardly the rarity another reviewer claims it to be - though this *is*, in fact, the first tale I've come across to detail life on the ships of the White Star Line in the years after the Titanic catastrophe. As such, Eastham does a great job here of showing life aboard the Olympic during its last cruise before Germany declared war on Great Britain - and the moment those on the ship first learned of that fact. We also see a vivid description of life along the coasts of Scotland and its great fisherman... and the women who toiled so hard to process all the fish that were caught. Eastham then dives into The Great War itself... as seen through the eyes of these nurses (mostly) as they serve on the HMHS Britannic. Eastham actually uses the moment of its sinking as a prologue, before eventually getting back to that moment deep in the book (around the 70% mark, IIRC). Eastham then continues to follow these two nurses through the end of the war, and it is here in particular that she shows the bravery to do things few authors do. Overall a solid tale of its type, one fans of the genre will love and which even those new to the genre will get a good example of this type of tale. Very much recommended.