No Man's Land - by Wendy Moore (Paperback)

About the Book

"In September 1914, a month after the outbreak of the First World War, two British doctors, Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson, set out for Paris. There, they built a makeshift hospital in Claridge's, the luxury hotel, and treated hundreds of casualties carted in from France's battlefields. Until this war called men to the front, female doctors had been restricted to treating only women and children. But even skeptical army officials who visited Flora and Louisa's Paris hospital sent back glowing reports of their practice. Their wartime hospital was at the cutting edge of medical care -- they were the first to use new antiseptic and the first to use x-ray technology to locate bullets and shrapnel. In No Man's Land, Wendy Moore illuminates this turbulent moment when women were, for the first time, allowed to operate on men. Even as medical schools still denied them entry, Suffragettes across the country put down their bricks to volunteer, determined to prove the value of female doctors. Within months, Flora and Louisa were invited by the British Army to set up two more hospitals-the first in northern France and the second a major military hospital in the heart of London. Nicknamed the "Suffragettes' Hospital," Endell Street became renowned as "the best hospital in London," thanks to its pioneering treatments and reputation for patriotism. It was also one of the liveliest, featuring concerts, tea parties, pantomimes, and picnics, in addition to surgeries. Moreover, Flora and Louisa were partners in life as well as in work. While they struggled to navigate the glass ceiling of early twentieth-century medical care, they also grappled with the stresses and joys of their own relationship. But although Flora, Louisa, and Endell Street effectively proved that women doctors could do the work of men, when the war was over, doors that had been opened were slammed shut. Women found themselves once more relegated to treating only women and children, and often in the poorest neighborhoods. It was not until World War II that women were again permitted to treat men. Drawing from letters, memoirs, diaries, army service records, and interviews, Moore brings these remarkable women and their patients to life and reclaims this important, spirited history. At a time when women are campaigning as hard as ever for equality, the fortitude and brilliance of Flora and Louisa serve as powerful reminders of what women can achieve against all odds."--

Book Synopsis

The "absorbing and powerful" (Wall Street Journal) story of two pioneering suffragette doctors who shattered social expectations and transformed modern medicine during World War I. A month after war broke out in 1914, doctors Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson set out for Paris, where they opened a hospital in a luxury hotel and treated hundreds of casualties plucked from France's battlefields. Although prior to the First World War, female doctors were restricted to treating women and children, Murray and Anderson's work was so successful that the British Army asked them to run a hospital in the heart of London. Nicknamed the Suffragettes' Hospital and staffed from top to bottom by women, Endell Street soon became known for its lifesaving treatments and lively atmosphere.

In No Man's Land, Wendy Moore illuminates this turbulent moment of global war when women were, for the first time, allowed to operate on men. Their fortitude and brilliance serve as powerful reminders of what women can achieve against all odds.

Review Quotes

"No Man's Land is a story of feminist aspirations, bureaucratic hurdles overcome, medical innovation, and unexpected freedoms created in the turbulence of war. It is an important and well written addition to the growing body of forgotten women's history."--Shelf Awareness

"No Man's Land is an absolute delight. Wendy Moore has performed an incredible feat of historical detective work, and the result is a gripping account of courage and determination in the face of death. It is impossible not to love the 'suffragette surgeons' as they fought for the wounded abroad and for women's rights at home."-- Amanda Foreman, author of The Duchess

"No Man's Land is an extraordinary story, and beautifully told."--Anita Anand, author of Sophia

"An absorbing and powerful narrative of how two determined women used the crisis of war to create an opportunity to accomplish goals that they couldn't achieve in peacetime....Ms. Moore has an eye for detail that brings her story to life."
--Wall Street Journal

"Crisp, novelistic... Moore narrates with verve and precision."--Publishers Weekly

"Drawing on rich archival material, Moore crafts a compelling history of the challenges faced by women doctors in the early years of the last century... An absorbing history of courage."--Kirkus Reviews

"Fascinating, carefully researched... Wendy Moore vividly depicts the convoys of seriously wounded soldiers arriving straight from the battlefields in France in the hospital's courtyard in the middle of the night... Moore is superb at describing the medical advances that resulted in seven research papers by Endell Street doctors being published in The Lancet, among the first ever by women."--The Guardian

"Fascinating"--Times (UK)

"Few authors write as colorfully and compellingly about the past as Wendy Moore. In her deft hands, the horrors of the First World War and the heroic efforts of the suffragette surgeons are conjured back to life. Meticulously researched and beautifully executed, No Man's Land is an important book that shows Moore to be the masterful storyteller that she is."--Lindsey Fitzharris, author of The Butchering Art

"How can a spectacular story like No Man's Land just disappear? Luckily for us, it fell into the hands of one of our finest biographers. Wendy Moore's rich storyteller's voice has brought back the lives and achievements of these brave and brilliant women."--Andrea Wulf, author of The Invention of Nature

"If you're fascinated by today's miracle medicine, this one's for you. This true tale details two pioneering doctors who transformed modern medicine while breaking societal norms during World War I."--Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Meticulously researched, written with élan and wit, Moore's account comes at just the right time... No Man's Land reminds us that people can rise to an occasion, that the biggest advances -- for medicine, for humanity -- can come during the toughest times, as a result of the toughest times. It reminds us that great courage and great ingenuity are possible even when the world feels very dark."--New York Times

"Moore eloquently brings to life the story of the two women who fought for women's rights and set up Endell Street Hospital-nicknamed the Suffragettes' Hospital and staffed entirely by women."--Scientific American

"Rarely is a book so important, so timely. Medical journalist and author Moore has written a masterpiece... an unmissable, thrilling read."--London Evening Standard

"The story of the extraordinary women who ran the 'Suffragettes' Hospital' is visceral, timely, urgent, and spellbinding. Wendy Moore's book is utterly involving and deeply thought-provoking, and all I can do is urge you to read it."--Helen Castor, author of She-Wolves

"This well researched, well written story makes a strong case for how British suffering during the Great War would have been even worse if not for the heroic female physicians who previously were allowed to operate only on women and children."
--Booklist

"Wendy Moore's skill as a writer delivers the story of these women and the history of the war with exceptional power, laying out a compelling combination of casualty statistics and individual human stories."
--New York Journal of Books

About the Author

Wendy Moore is a journalist and author of several previous books, including How to Create the Perfect Wife and Wedlock, a Sunday Times bestseller. Her writing has appeared in the Times, the Guardian, the Observer, and the Sunday Telegraph. She lives in London.