Cover Image: Coming Home to Liverpool

Coming Home to Liverpool

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Member Reviews

The third story in the series but easily readable without having read the others, which I had not. Maud, a surgical nurse, returns to her home town of Liverpool with her adopted son and the expectation that her husband will join her in a few weeks. She's met by her old nursing friends, Alice and Eddie, after a seasick ridden voyage and taken to their home. She manages to get a job at the Liverpool Infirmary, in spite of being married - that's kept quiet - and immerses herself in caring for the sick. She brings with her the experience of work under more modern medicine practice in New York and at least some of the Liverpool surgeons are supportive - the use of chloroform is becoming the norm, Pasteur has developed the smallpox vaccination and carbolic acid/cleanliness is becoming accepted. practice. Interspersed with this is Nancy and her pregnancy, the return of Harry, the husband, his trials and hers before they can become another couple again. The squalour and deprivation of industrial Liverpool at this time, 1872, the robust and supportive communities in spite of this are exceedingly well drawn. The characters likeable (or not in the case of the baddies), the sense of hope for medicine and improvements flourish throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed Ms Eastham's "Miss Nightinglae's Nurses" set mostly against the backdrop of the Crimean War where, again, her descriptions of medicine under fire were very well written. "Coming Home to Liverpool" is in the same vein and well worth the read. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Kate Eastham writes such lovely stories that draw you into the book,the charactors are brilliant and i look forward to the next book from this fabulous author 5*

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I have to say, I love Kate Eastham's books. Well written and follows the characters brilliantly. Now I've finished i want more! Kate has a way of transporting you to the characters as if we are going through it all with them. Yet again,another cracker.

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A story set in late 19th century Liverpool where poverty is everywhere and disease is prevalent. When Maud Linklater returns from New York with her adopted son she is determined to go back to work as a nurse and put into practice everything that she has learned whilst working there. I loved the depth of the characters and the story was well written. I didn't realise that it was part of a series but it can easily be read as a stand-alone as there's lots of background information.

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