The Lady with the Lamp: The Story of Florence Nightingale

by Lee Wyndham, Mort Künstler (Illustrator)

"You, Florence! Become a nurse?" Dr. Fowler stares at the slim, elegant girl. "It won't take you long to change your mind- after you see a hospital ward. Come."

The horrible smell, the dark, stained walls, and the moans of dying patients on the care of coarse, uncaring ward-nurses, sicken Florence. But she forces herself to look.

"I will change all this," she vows, "if it takes me a lifetime."

Read how Florence Nightingale - the belle of Victorian society - becomes a nurse, and turns the terrible "pest-houses" of her day into clean, modern hospitals.

--from the back of the book

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

191 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1970

About the author

Jane Andrews Lee Hyndman (December 16, 1912-March 18, 1978) was born in Russia and came to the United States in 1923 where she became a U.S. Citizen. She was the daughter of Andrew and Alexandra Levchenko. In 1933 she married Robert Hyndman (pseudonym Robert Wyndham) and they had two children. Lee Hyndman was educated in both the United States and in Turkey where she studied singing and painting. She was a member of the Author’s Guild of the Author’s League of America and Women’s National Book Association (New York).

During her career Hyndman worked as a children’s book editor for the Morristown Daily Record in Morristown, New Jersey from 1949-1958 and at the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1950-1963. Beginning in 1958 Hyndman began lecturing on writing for teens and children at New York University. She also held several other jobs such as author of a syndicated children’s book column in five New Jersey newspapers beginning in 1963, lecturer, book critic, free-lance editor and project consultant. She also conducted several writing seminars and conferences. She was also a professional fashion model in New York.

Reviews

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You, Florence! Become a nurse?" Dr. Fowler stares at the slim, elegant girl. "It won't take you long to change your mind- after you see a hospital ward. Come."
- Lee Wyndham, The Lady with the Lamp: The Story of Florence Nightingale



Lovely book from my childhood. Dark, haunting and all true. Will write a review ro follow soon.

As enchanting, beautiful and filled with hope as a beautiful night-sky full of stars. This is a book I read as a child, where I'd sit, dreaming starry-eyed dreams in my school's library.

I'd read about all the greats. And she was one of them.

It was stark and horrifiying in some ways. Even though it's a child's book, there are hospital scenes and scenes if death and illness. It's dark - but so beautiful. And remains in my mind ever so vividly.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't remember if this is a re-read- but it must be. It's a Scholastic book published in 1970 and I was a fool for biographies, and spent every cent I had on books through the magical Scholastic order forms the teachers would pass out. On the other hand, I'm certain I would have remembered the stellar illustrations by Mort Kunstler.

This is the first time I've read a Nightinale bio as an adult. Florence sure was hemmed in by her times, and many of the situations described just made me sad. One wonders, given the huge accomplishments she achieved with all the constraints, what she might have done without. The war scenes were horrific, perhaps because I brought an adult sensibility to them.

Anyone know of a good modern bio of Nightingale? I think I'd like to read one for grown-ups.

[Raye of the Dead · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting and easy read. I now want to learn even more about Florence Nightingale.

[Usha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in my 6th grade. Loved it then. Not sure this book is on the recommended reading list for today's school children Revisited the same book after many years. The biography of Florence Nightingale is inspirational. She would not settle down for an ordinary life that her mother and rest of the family visualized for her. In 1837, she received a Call to Service and she answered it to the best of her ability.Every soldier in the world owes a debt of gratitude to Miss Nightingale. For it was she who started the far-reaching reforms that still affect his health and well being.International Red Cross grew out of the inspiration she gave to a Swiss gentleman. Her greatest contribution was in the field of hospital nursing.She found Modern Nursing with its special training and knowledge. She published tow books in her advanced years and in frail health--Notes on Hospitals and Notes on Nursing, the influence of both of which is felt worldwide.
She braved a lot of criticism, obstruction, and discouragement in her quest to prove the value of women in nursing. But she achieved that, in addition to improving the quality of hospital management at a time when it was it its lowest due to wars, and starting a formal training school for Nursing.
Truly a pioneer in her field in the times that were plagued by wars, Cholera, lack of equipment, nourishment, and bureaucracy.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

You, Florence! Become a nurse? Dr. Fowler stares at the slim, elegant girl. It won't take you long to change your mind - after you see a hospital ward. Come.

The horrible smell, the dark stained walls, and the moans of dying patients in the care of coarse, uncaring ward nurses, sicken Florence.

But she forces herself to look. I will change all this, she vows, if it takes me a lifetime!

Read how Florence Nightingale - the belle of Victorian Society - became a nurse, and turns the terrible "pest houses" of her day into clean modern hospitals.

I found this one quite interesting. Mom claims it's boring but then again she's not much of a history kind of person. This is geared towards youth age 10 and up. I found this old copy at the local library's freebie box and decided to give it a chance. I found the first parts to be a little boring but the 2nd half was better.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Ms Nightingale has much more to it than I ever knew. This story helped me get more background on a woman that changed and in fact created the nursing industry as it is today. A woman that knew what her calling was and let nothing and no one stop her. It was a mazing to me that nursing was once thought of a a lowly job. Ms Nightingale changed this view and made people both in and out of the hospitals see that nurses made a world of difference to the sick, dying and healing. This story makes me want to know about Ms Nightingale and do more fact checking and finding. What a wonderful woman of history.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t believe my history book never studied her! Very much worth reading and not long at all.

[Hadassah Buie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the perfect introduction to Florence Nightingale. I would recommend this to 12-14 year olds especially.