Sue Barton, Student Nurse

Sue Barton #1

by Helen Dore Boylston

Describes Sue Barton's humorous scrapes and adventures as a probationer and student nurse

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Classics, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Medical, Historical

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

An only child, Helen Dore Boylston attended Portsmouth public schools and trained as a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. Two days after graduating, she joined the Harvard medical unit that had been formed to serve with the British Army. After the war, she missed the comradeship, intense effort, and mutual dependence of people upon one another when under pressure, and joined the Red Cross to work in Poland and Albania. This work, often in isolation and with little apparent effect, wasn't satisfying. Returning to the U.S., Boylston taught nose and throat anaesthesia at Massachusetts General for two years. During this time Rose Wilder Lane read Boylston's wartime diary and arranged for it to be published in the Atlantic Monthly. - Source

- More information

Series:
* Sue Barton
* Carol Page

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently finished reading this for the first time in at least 25 years, but I'd read it so many times in my youth that EVERY WORD was as familiar as if I'd written the book myself. Since this book (and its immediate sequel) are so deeply ingrained in the fiber of my bookish self, it's hard for me to write about it cogently. Let's see, I'll start with childhood impressions. This was the only nursing series I read as a child, and I found all the medical details, and the portrait of hospital life fascinating. It never really registered that the first book had been published in 1936 (well before the widespread use of antibiotics), and would thus not reflect current medical reality -- I accepted it all unconditionally. Nor did it occur to me in the late 1970s and early 80s that there was anything out of date about a world in which if you were female you were a nurse, if male a doctor, period.

I'm pretty sure that a big part of why I loved the book was because of the friendships Sue makes with her fellow nurses-in training Kit and Connie. I enjoyed their escapades and witty banter. In retrospect it's easy to see that I was really enjoying this book in the same way I later came to love school stories (which I was not a great reader of at the time, lacking access to them). Beyond a doubt this book portrays "a closed feminine world, a place apart from everyday life, with its own rules and codes, where friendships and small incidents have more intensity than they would otherwise, and where the ways a girl defines herself and contributes the community as a whole are matters of great import, and a source of personal growth and empowerment" (I'm quoting from my review of At Boarding School With the Tucker Twins by Nell Speed). There is certainly a definite boarding school/college feel to this book. The hospital (based on Massachusetts General where Boylston herself received her own training just before WWI) is very much like a huge campus, and the student nurses live in a dormitory (are there any nursing schools where this happens nowadays?) which has strict rules about lights out at 10:00 -- a constant of all the early women's college fiction I've read. I noted this reading that Sue spends a whole year at the hospital without ever going home for a visit once, which seems rather extreme (and if her family ever came to visit her, we certainly didn't hear anything about it).

In any case, the appreciation of the school aspect of the story explains why while I read the first two books about Sue's training years to pieces (literally), I read the third book (about settlement work in New York) only three or four times, and the later books about Sue's marriage only once each, and the last book in the series not at all. I currently have the whole series to hand, and am determined to do my first ever full read through. My impressions reading this first book as an adult have not changed greatly, although I register more now that I did as a child that character sketches of patients of various ethnic groups are painted a bit too broadly (both of Sue's Italian patients who get a mention shout "Mama Mia!" a lot). Generally I enjoyed it as much as ever, although I wished it wasn't so familiar! This being my first reading of the book in the age of google, I was also able to confirm that the Charge of the Light Brigade took place in 1854 (which I did know, vaguely), and for the first time worked out from the age of the elderly patient who tells of being treated by Florence Nightingale when he was a twelve-year old wounded drummer boy, that the book is set precisely in the years 1933-34.

[Ginny Messina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how I missed the Sue Barton books when I was growing up; my library must not have had them. But I'm happy to have the chance to read them now—-although I had to go all the way to Australia (via the internet) to find affordable copies of the first two.

First published in 1936, this is a fascinating portrayal of nursing in the 1930s. (Boylston herself graduated from nursing school in 1915, and the book is about her own experiences as a nursing student. But a conversation with a soldier towards the end of the book reveals that the story takes place in 1934.) The writing is very good and it feels amazingly fresh and pretty sophisticated.

Now I'm off to see how Sue fares as a senior nurse.

[Trine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book still holds its charms even though I must have read it a billion times and it is close to 70 years old. It manages masterly to combine a progressing story with the description of nursing training and presenting interesting characters both among staff and patients. The author imparts on the reader her own love for the hospital, its people and the job. No wonder I for years wanted to become a nurse after reading these books.

[Nate D]

So I've been threatening to read an actual nurse novel ever since Francis Johnson and today the actually totally amazing selection of dollar books outside of Book Thug Nation has allowed me to do so. This is apparently a classic of the genre from the 30s, here reissued by Teen Age Book Club in the 50s. Following the fairly mundane adventures of our plucky heroine as she makes it through the roughly first year of her nursing education at a big city hospital. With its general school-friend sense of camaraderie and loose episodic plotting joined only by the progression of the year and studies, it essentially reads like the first couple Harry Potters. I mean, hospital work is basically witchcraft, right?

Admittedly, the first couple pages got my hopes up way more than could ever be met:

"Mother says ... forgot ... rubbers ... get some more!" Ted roared.
Sue grinned. She had not forgotten her rubbers. She had ignored them."

But no, I think they just meant rain boots. Or erasers?! In any event, there is no hint of any sexy meanings of rubbers going on here. Everyone is actually pretty unbelievably studious and sex and drugs are definitely not happening. (Also like Harry Potter, come to think of it, except Sue is, like, eighteen here, so even more implausible.) But then, page 2:

"I don't believe it. You can't make me think that 300 girls living together don't have any fun."

But again, no, they really don't. This was deemed safe for Teen Agers, apparently, remember.

But whatever. Let's just look at some more cover varients. Nurse Novels:

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming book, with a refreshingly human heroine who is also very dedicated to her profession. The storyline is quite simple, but it is delightfully written and a lot of fun. I love the dialogue between Sue and her friends, Kit and Connie, and some of the crazy escapades they get into. Poor Miss Alden (163)! I wonder if she ever found out what happened. There are also some parts that I found to be quite funny.

I love the hospital culture that books like this convey. There were very definite codes of behavior, a strong sense of tradition, and a lot of emphasis on school and professional pride. And let's not forget the exciting day when they get their caps! I'm not sure if any of this still exists in the nursing profession, but it's a lovely world to read about. [Although I can't figure out while nearly all the patients had some sort of an accent.]

I first encountered these books when I was younger--probably in middle school--and had happened to stumble across one of them at a library book sale. I devoured it and promptly interloaned the rest of the series. Some of the incidents of this one did come back to me a little as I read it, and I look forward to rereading the rest of the series!

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know many people outside of my family who read these, but they've been comfort reads for me for a long time. Boylston started writing them in the 1930s and continued into the 1950s, telling the story of a young woman who becomes a nurse, from nursing school through settlement work in New York City to marriage and nursing in a rural New Hampshire community.

The gender roles are fairly dated (especially in the third book, which deals with Sue's dilemma between her nursing career and her doctor fiance). I do like that in the later books, Sue feels some conflict between her family life and her professional life. The sentiment sometimes turns into soppiness, but the warm humor and the vivid characters always cheer me up.

[CLM · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) I always wish her rich friend had gone by Constance instead of Connie
2) There was a Sue Barton in my freshman dorm at college. She just looked at me blankly when I asked if she had considered nursing school instead! Maybe the Lexington, MA library didn't carry these books?
3) It is a pity that nurses these days don't wear caps but I guess the men wouldn't like it.*
4) Not to risk starting a war with that Eleanor woman but Sue was definitely better than Cherry!
5) Overall, I love this series; especially the first two books (naturally, I own them all, after reading them from the library growing up).



* male nurses, I meant!

[Yas · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب ساده و روون و درعین حال شیرینی بود. به خصوص مسائل و راه‌حل هاشون و روابط کارکترها آموزنده بود.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sue leaves home for a new life and career as a nurse, starting three months of probation that need to be survived in order for her to make it to the rank of Student Nurse. She faces the scary Miss Cameron, angry patients and the night shifts from Hell with the help of her devoted friends Kit and Connie, and the friendship of young Dr Bill Barry.

I first read this book way back in the 80's after a long spell in hospital and I was fascinated by this story. It is set in the 1930's in an urban hospital in the USA though it feels like it is set in England. The way the characters talk had me convinced that it was English but Sue herself is from New Hampshire and Connie from Chicago...

I'm actually surprised that there haven't been more up to date series about nursing as this series was a huge best seller. I don't know the location of this fictional hospital but there is a lot of talk about slums, domestic violence and eccentric foreign patients. I doubt I could have the patience or dedication to do Sue's job!

Sue is bright, funny and kind, the sort of person that you would want as your best friend. She throws herself into her job with enthusiasm but fears that she might not have what it takes to be a good nurse, especially after a poor performance on her first spell of night shift. Connie is the rich girl who is looking for some meaning in her life and is treated coldly by the other nurses who think she is just there to pass some time until she gets bored. Kit is the outspoken one who doesn't care what others think of her. along with swotty Willie, scared Hilda and a host of other nurses, we follow their adventures through their first year.

There is good humour in the book. Sue trying to hide from an angry patient and falling down a laundry chute. Miss Cameron losing her rag with the entire class over missing equipment. Sue being chased by Tony the Greek laundryman. There were also some touching moments where Connie wins over her critics and Willie gets taken down a few pegs by Miss Cameron.

I liked the characters and the setting. The author does a good job of describing the hospitals that I've known in this country-draughty and cold in winter, stifling hot in summer! You feel as if you are there with the girls and experiencing the highs and lows of the nursing carreer. You don't have to be interested in nursing to enjoy these short light reads. I look forward to the rest of Sue's adventures!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a step back in time. I read these ages ago, growing up - these, Cherry Ames, that series about airline stewardesses... This series is the best of the bunch, I think.

There's a casual approach to its plot - I remember that first English class where I learned about rising action and climaxes and falling action, with a helpful little graph drawn on the board. There's nothing so direct here. Instead, the story is almost a series of anecdotes told in chronological order. They're interesting not because they set up something bigger but because they chronicle ups and downs in life and in Sue's chosen profession - exciting and scary and defeated and triumphant in turns.

That laid-back approach to plot is balanced by more formal writing. There's just something about books published 80 years ago: they feel different. There's a more deliberate quality to their prose. They wax lyrical unironically. The dialogue can be ridiculous, and the writing can be overly sentimental or melodramatic - but it's so full of feeling that it completely bypasses mawkishness to convey its own honesty. There's something bracing and refreshing about it.

This is an old book, yes; it certainly reads as dated. But it's honest enough to be almost a history of its time.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm astonished to find this was first published in 1936 - I first read it in the late 1970s and it never struck me as old-fashioned or out of date. I've always loved Sue, with her brown eyes (yay! More heroines should have brown eyes) and alert humour. I never felt the slightest inclination to follow her into nursing but I read all the books many times.

In this, the first book, the story starts as Sue sets off to the hospital where she is to train. She is very young - this comes across clearly - but she grows up rapidly as she gains experience. Her adventures both on and off the ward are entertaining and there is a strong cast of main characters as well as plenty of vividly depicted walk-ons.

One of the nicest things about reading this book is knowing that there are six more, all just as well-written and just as entertaining. One of my favourites.

[Lydia Willcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! I've been looking forward to reading this series for a long time, and this first book was even better than I expected! I've always enjoyed nursing stories, and this is one of the best I've read. I loved all the escapades Sue and her friends got up to, and all the details of nursing and training, too! I was especially interested to read at the end that all nursing incidents really happened either to the author or to one of her fellow students - and that Kit and Connie were real people! I loved all three of the girls, and the side characters too - not to mention Dr Barry. And I loved the climax and ending, soo much.
I look forward to reading the rest of the series!

[cloudyskye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this almost as much as when I first read it decades ago. I never wanted to be a nurse, but it was simply fascinating to read about friendships and attitudes, the actual work and also some romance in a big hospital in the early 30s - probably in Boston?
(Anyway, the way Sue is feeling about the hospital is not unlike what my fellow students and I were taught to feel about the big library (Württembergische Landesbibliothek) where we did our work experience placement back in the 80s. It is simply wonderful to know you are in the right place. Not even the rather boring years at college could ruin that. :))

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the umpteenth reading of one of my favorite series. Sue Barton is a young woman entering nursing school and the book tells of her adventures and mishaps learning nursing in a large hospital. The book is set in the 1930s and it's amazing how menial the chores of these nurses were. Bed-making, dusting, and serving meals? Wow. Still love it though.

[Melody]

Sue Barton, Student Nurse was written in 1936 by Helen Dore Boyleston and it ignited a desire in me to become a nurse that didn’t die for the next ten years. I was absolutely captivated by all of the books in this series and it inspired me to volunteer as a Candy Striper at the local hospital.

The first in the series, this book is about Sue Barton and her first year as a probationer and then as a student nurse. She attends nursing school far away from her home town, meets new friends, catches the eye of Dr. Barry,( the most eligible of interns) and has all kinds of experiences that leave you laughing, crying, and intensely wishing that you were there with her.

Along with her two best friends, Kit and Connie, she learns the discipline and hard work that go with being a nurse in a hospital. She also learns many of life’s lessons along the way:

Life isn’t always fair.
No matter how nice you are, everyone will not always like you.
You cannot predict the future.

If you are interested in reading about what it used to require to become a nurse, this is an excellent read; if your interest lies more with nursing today, probably not the book for you.

This book is well written, with just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun reread for me. I loved the older style of writing since this book was first published in the 1930s. Sue was such a fun character, and her friends, Kit and Connie, were equally enjoyable. I chuckled over some of the situations these student nurses found themselves in, got dreamy about the hospital, and found the whole story delightfully relaxing.

There were one of two euphemisms. This is not a Christian book, but there is nothing objectionable in it.

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had a 24-hour bug this week and Sue was a great comfort.

6-29-2012:
I would have started reading even sooner, had I known that on her first day on the ward, Sue falls down a laundry chute!!

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love love love this look at nursing in the 1930s. Sue and her friends seem so real and the details are captivating. I have the next few on request and can't wait to get through the whole series.

[Dorte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, how I wanted to be Sue Barton, a beautiful, idealistic nurse who marries the handsome doctor and proves that a woman with an education is the best wife any man can have!

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sue and her friends are very rare fictional characters whose conversations with each other make me laugh out loud and want them to be my friends!

[Mia]

Diese Buchreihe ist neben Hanni und Nanni, Dolly und diversen anderen Büchern des Schneider-Verlags einfach Teil meiner Kindheit, weil sie zu den alten Büchern gehört, die meine Tante noch aus ihrer Kindheit aufgehoben hat.
War deswegen sogar ganz kurz mal versucht, irgendwas mit Medizin zu machen, habe aber sehr bald realisiert, dass mich doch kaum etwas weniger interessiert.

Beim Lesen heute ist mir aufgefallen, dass die Protagonistin Susy eigentlich sogar als eine ziemlich unabhängige und starke Frau charakterisiert wird, dafür dass das Buch in den 1930er Jahren geschrieben wurde.
Aber bin trotzdem immer wieder leicht schockiert, was ich mir mit 12 (auch außerhalb von Wattpad und Co) so für dezent problematische Welt- und Geschlechterbilder reingezogen habe.

Was nicht heißt, dass es nicht trotzdem bisschen nostalgisch ist, alle paar Jahre mal wieder reinzulesen :)

[HattieB · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet but dated story.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are books my mom read when she was growing up, and then gave to me. We actually still have the 1964 paperback editions, which means that they're literally falling (or have already fallen) apart in my hands. They're set in the 1930's, so that makes part of the medical descriptions a little laughable--like learning how to use drops of chloroform in a paper funnel to keep a patient sedated for surgery. Also, nurses do not so much wear the white uniforms with the aprons and caps anymore. So those parts are a little dated, but the characters and their interactions remain incredibly enjoyable and very...not so much current as timeless.

I don't really know why I like these books so much, as they have very little plot; mostly they just follow Sue and her friends through life, through nursing school, and visiting nurses and rural nurses, into marriage and children and back into nursing. But the characters ring very true, and the dialogue is so enjoyable that it covers up the lack of meat to the plot. Yes, they're fluff, but they're "good for the soul" fluff, not "I have to hide this, no one can know I read it" fluff.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a copy of this at a library book sale that prices by the bag, so some books that I may not have ordinarily picked up found their way into my to-read pile.

Sue Barton, Student Nurse has a breezy, episodic feel, and I liked the old-fashioned style. The characters are pretty transparent and stereotypical, but I still enjoyed them. The most interesting parts were the details about both the day-to-day lives of the nurses and the vintage medical practices of the hospital.

I'd read more of these if they were easily available, but I wasn't drawn in enough to track down a bunch of secondhand copies and have them shipped to me. Maybe I'll come across the next book in a local used shop, or maybe they'll be available as e-books someday.

[Kristine Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in the series. It starts with Sue joining forces with her soon to be best friends Kit and Connie on a wonderful and sometimes frightening adventure in nursing school. This is the way nursing should be taught ......with the students living in the hospital having classes in the morning and working with patients part of the day.

This book gives a delightful view of a bygone era. I highly recommend this series for all ages.

An interesting bit of trivia......Helen Boylston was living with Laura Ingalls Wilder while writing some of the Sue Barton books. Helen and Rose Wilder were friends.

[Cera · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot that I liked about this novel, but I really could have done without the farce aspects, which is why it only gets three stars. It seems to be drawing on some of the same tropes as girls boarding school books.

I did very much like that Sue is serious about her career, and the author actually shows Sue arguing against some of the sexism she encounters, which was a pleasant surprise.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, I read all the Sue Barton books, probably 50plus years ago. I loved each and every one!!! I loved Sue and I loved her boyfriend and you know what? I became a nurse!!!! Don't know whether I read them because at the time I wanted to be a nurse or did they affect me to become a nurse!
But how come her back never hurt like mine did!!!! after a day at work!

[Connie Glasgow]

So looking forward to reading about Kit, Connie & Sue. My mother was reading this series when she was pregnant with me - that's how I was named Connie! Written in the 50's the wording and information is so funny. "the cats meow" just one of the many.

So excited to read all 7. On to #2

[Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to know first off, why I didn't ever try this series in the first place! Thank you Bethany for recommending it.:)

I would consider this a classic, because it is one of the few series that isn't written in a pulp-fiction style. Sue Barton is taken from an experienced point of view, and written with plenty of humor, feeling, and character development.

It starts off as she leaves her family on the train station platform, and travels off to nursing school at a old but dear hospital. There she meets and makes friends with Kit, a English girl who manages to get into scrapes if ever there is one, Connie, a society girl who wants to fill her life with meaningful work, and a young intern, Dr. Barry-who rescues her from a underground subway but I shall not say more. These are just a handful of the vibrant, warm characters in this book. How they stopped the snooty Lois from pestering and worrying gentle Hilda into a fit of nerves, how Connie proves her dedication to the other nurses, how they try to discover the best nursing technique with error, and how Sue finds out whether she is cut from the right cloth for her profession, make this a wonderful read! I would give it more stars if I could.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread to discover the nostalgia of reading this years ago when I was young. Enjoyed it and look forward to reading the whole series. I couldn’t get them all then, but now I have them.