Helen Rappaport's "No Place for Ladies" is a gripping exploration of women's experiences during World War I. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, Rappaport sheds light on the often overlooked roles of women on the home front and the front lines. This book is a poignant tribute to the resilience and contributions of women during a tumultuous period in history.

This was a very different subject matter from the Romanovs. I like the author’s writing style because she writes nonfiction like a novel. However, I did not really enjoy this book as much. I have not heard any of these women before so I did not care much about their stories. Still, this is a good book for those interested in Russian history. In the meantime, I’ll be rereading her Romanovs books until her next book comes out!

i really enjoyed reading this book, the topic was interesting and well researched. I always enjoy Ms. Rappaport's work.

I mostly read fiction books but very much enjoy anything regarding historical events and history in general. I loved that this book focused on women in the Crimean War and we all know one very famous woman who is associated with it, Florence Nightingale. However, this book doesn't just give you an insight into Florence herself, it tells the story of other women who were just as important to the war effort.

I was genuinely shocked to hear of the horrendous conditions these women endured, having to lie in ditches giving birth and get used to living a life surrounded by horror and death. Rappaport painted a very vivid picture of what life was like during the war and the suffering that both men and women endured.

I found the resilience of the women amazing, from the wives of soldiers, the nurses and even up to the ladies in the camps. The fact that these women willingly gave up their lives and followed their husbands to war or nursed in the almost derelict hospitals with such triumphant attitudes was just so inspiring.

I think the book was very insightful and well written however, I found it jumped too much from one subject to another without much reason. It was confusing in places to follow.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the Crimean War or history. It gave me a great insight into the war and held my interest. It wasn't too heavy and and it didn't feel bogged down in small details.

I recieved this ARC from Agora Books and Netgalley on exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 18%, at the end of Chapter 3

Documenting the happenings on the ground during the Crimean War. It is a record of the presence of women and roles they played in that duration. Overall, this book feels impersonal. Context and the facts are weaved into narrative, quoting from letters and diaries of various people. There is a lot to take in.

No discerning eye on the subject either as the book goes on chronologically.

My observation: Romantised ideals of having women on the ground at wartime because they are an excellent multitasking workhorse? Please! That sentiment might have prevailed in the end because it worked in favour of the majority’s (government & military) expectations.

A dry read.

Well researched and clearly written, this book reveals the highly interesting story of the women--army wives, lady tourists, and nurses, who participated in some way in the Crimean War. As someone who knew little to none about this conflict going in, this was a very informative read that really taught me a lot beyond the mythological 'lady of the lamp' story that every child is taught in school. A brilliant historical book, will definitely be reading more of Helen Rappaport's work.

I have long been an admirer of the author Helen Rappaport, especially the books "The Romanov Sisters" and "Magnificent Obsession." So I was very excited to be chosen to read this book by this author by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for a review. I found the book to be excellent reading with not only a narrative of what happened to women who bravely followed the fighting men to the Crimea but the book also had many excerpts of letters and diaries to make the experience more "real" for the reader. Also, Ms. Rappaport also talked about Russian women at the front which I have never read about before and a different account of Florence Nightingale other than the fawning accounts usually given.
When we're not wanted by the British army at the front with good reason. They got in the way and there was no provision for them in the regulations. That means no food, clothing, or lodging. However, a soldier's wife and children left at home were left to starve as no provision was left for them either. A lottery was set up and 6 wives with no children were picked to go with their husbands to go but they had to shift for themselves. They usually washed for the men or acted as servants for the officer's wives who of course had different rules. The women suffered on the ships. Suffered on the marches. Lived and died with their men. If their men died they were truly lost. Remember, no food, shelter, or clothing from the army. They turned to drink to cope. Washing, mending, cooking, and prostitution to survive. Their children died in drives.
After battles, the British had no real medical care. A few orderlies and surgeon and a filthy hospital in Scutari. The French had the Sisters of Charity. Word got back to Britain that their beloved soldiers were dying for lack of care and incompetence. Enter Florence Nightingale. Florence went to the Crimea to care for the wounded with a group of nurses and what they found was appalling. The filth, vermin, lack of bedding, clothing, eating utensils, etc. was appalling. The women set to work. Florence was demanding and difficult to work for. Many women turned to drink to come. Florence was inflexible and refused to understand others could not work as she could. She sent many women home. Several nurses died. Florence made a difference but at a cost. Mary Seacole went to the Crimea at her own expense. She was from the Caribbean and was a doctor and a herbalist and nursed many a soldier bank to health. More soldiers died from disease than from wounds. Cholera was endemic. Mary also set up a canteen and did a lot for British morals. The French had this covered already. The British officer with their class system had nothing but contempt for the common soldier and let them die in droves. Although Crimea was no place for women the few heroic women who did come save thousands of British soldier's lives. The French nuns worked tirelessly to save the wounded French soldier. One of the more interesting stories is the British surgeon who turned out to be a woman. Very interesting reading.
Then there are the Russians. A group of fearless Russian young upper-class women heard about the British nurses and wanted to help and the Russian military brass did not want there help either. However, a Russian surgeon, needing help, could see their value enlisted their help and these brave young women worked through the war caring for the wounded soldiers eve during the shelling. One nurse was even killed during the shelling. After the war, not one British woman was recognized or given a medal. The Russian women were recognized and given several medals. Florence Nightingale founded a nursing school. This book does not hold back from the horrors of war. After reading it you just again always have to ask why?

'No Place for Ladies' is a brilliant book, which aims to explore the place of women in the Crimean War, but in fact works as a primer for anyone who lacks familiarity with the conflict. Author Helen Rappaport does not delve deep into the political motivations of the war, but paints a strong picture of the key battles, the chief problems, and the social issues brewing back in Britain as the war is waged - all while showing the part that women played both on and off the battle-field.

Books on 'women's history' are often let done by the lack of available historical resources available to researchers: often women did not write about their own lives, or their writings were not considered valuable enough to keep, and their voices are absent from men's accounts. From the beginning, this is not the case with 'No Place for Ladies'. Rappaport draws from the diaries of the lady-wives of officers, and from reports and personal accounts of the wives of soldiers. Nurses and doctors' memoirs, letters to newspapers, Queen Victoria's own correspondence; the books is rich with the voices of women, as well as the men who interacted with them.

Importantly, while the work of Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole, and other medical women is a key part of the book, nursing is only one of the many roles women play in the war. While Rappaport focuses on British women, she is able to draw a line between how they were often undervalued and overlooked by the military machine with their French allies - whose women had very distinct and important roles - and even their Russian foe.

One of my few disappointments with the book is that we see more of the rivalries and hostilities between women in the war than the ties that bind them. Importantly, Rappaport draws out the classism, racism, and religious divides that often split the women whose stories she tells, but I felt like there were too few stories that showed the opposite; a mention of how soldiers' wives living with their husbands on the battlefield banded together is immediately countered with an anecdote of one left to fend for herself as an outsider to the rest of her community. And Fanny Durbley, whose prolific diaries are most often drawn on, simply had no time or care for other women.

'No Place for Ladies' has, as the author puts it, been reissued 'against the backdrop of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic'. It is easy to draw a parallel between the Victorian public's deep appreciation of the women nursing their soldiers and the current gratitude to NHS staff for their hard work and sacrifices. But there are parallels, too, to be drawn between the mismanagement of British troops, their wives and families, and the medical provision they needed during the Crimean War, and the mismanagement of the pandemic we're now seeing. Like all good history books, 'No Place for Ladies' allows us to reflect on how far we've come - and how little has changed.

An ARC was generously provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Reviewed after receving an ARC of the updated version due to be released May 12th 2020, for Nurses Day, a portion of the proceeds being donated to Guys and St Thomas Charity.

Everyone knows about Florence Nightingale and her role in nursing through the Crimea War, what few know about are the other women who were in the Crimea, and the region at the same time supporting their husbands as wives "on the strength", other nurses running hospitals in other locations, or those independent sorts like Mary Seacole who moved herself out there and set up a business.

While I have connections to the British Army I had little knowledge of the Crimea itself or how the idea of wives travelling to war with their husbands worked, though I knew it had been common.

What I enjoyed about this was that it covered these things in enough detail that it was interesting but not enough to feel like drowning in detail.

The problems faced by the wives left at home were covered in the early parts of the book, those who were married as the Army considered it legally and those who were married without their husband obtaining consent having very different experiences - a system which to a degree exists today, wives are recognised but anyone unmarried essentially doesnt exist as far the the British military system is concerned - and the origin of the still existing tradition of asking permission to marry from your superior officer. Those married without the army's permission recieving no assistance after their husbands left, while those married with permission could access some help.

The desperation of wives to travel with their husbands makes a lot more sense in the light of the problems faced by those left at home, but it was far from an easy experience for them. The military was characteristically unprepared for the scale of the deployment with problems moving supplies from the harbour to the front leaving items in ships holds for far longer than was ideal, weather - a harsh winter and the Great Storm of 1854 (described as a hurricane in the book) and of course the day to day harsh life of an army at war.

Once the book starts to cover the nursing aspects Rappaport makes it quite clear that the legend of Ms Nightingale is not the whole truth of her which is refreshing and as I worked for a period at a place she was known to have frequented due to family connections before she became so well known as a nurse particularly interesting to me. But regardless of her personal clashes with other people she did make a huge difference to the care of her patients in incredibly difficult circumstances.

There was also mention of James Barry the military surgeon who after his death it was discovered was actually born female and named Margaret Ann Bulkley, who himself (as that is how he identified and chose to be known) was the second highest ranked military medic who established a hospital for treatment and recuperation for Crimea wounded.

Overall the book is a good way to learn more about another side of war and a war which these days seems, to me, to be little known about barring Florence and The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Well worth reading as an exploration of the lives which were lived relatively without acknowledgement at the time.