Domina (Paperback)

by Barbara Wood (Author)
Key Phrases: accident ward, carbolic solution, finger alphabet, Barbara Wood, Miss Hargrave, Mark Rawlins (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
“Domina is an impressively researched and emotionally involving saga of one of the first woman doctors and a fascinating look back into the dark ages of medicine—a century ago. The strong feminine point of view is compelling and passionate … A book that inspires.”

—Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, author of A Woman of Independent Means

Set in London, New York, and San Francisco from the late nineteenth century through the first decades of the twentieth, Domina is the inspiring saga of one woman’s personal and professional triumph against the prejudices of her time.

Beautiful and courageous, Samantha Hargrave dares to dream that she will become one of the first female doctors—and surgeons—in America. Born in the slums of London and possessing a special gift for healing, Samantha struggles to enter the all-male medical profession. When her ambition meets with hostile rejection in England, she sails to America, where she meets an eccentric doctor who takes her on as an apprentice. But at the high-profile Astor Ball in New York, Samantha is introduced to the second of the three men who will change her life forever—and love just might interfere with her ambition.

Acclaimed novelist Barbara Wood reveals her remarkable talent by capturing Samantha’s indomitable spirit, making Domina a literary triumph.

About the Author
Barbara Wood is the author of twenty-three acclaimed novels, including Green City in the Sun, The Dreaming, Virgins of Paradise, and The Blessing Stone. She lives in California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 471 pages
• Publisher: Authors Choice Press (July 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059543326X
• ISBN-13: 978-0595433261
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #442,632 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome..., January 11, 2005

By	'chelle breeze "wordjunkie" (Kamuela, Hawaii United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Domina (Paperback)

this book is awesome... it combines historical fiction with romance... it's almost as though you're there at the turn of the 20th century experiencing life back then through our herione's eyes... it's action packed and very moving... i love how realistic the descriptions are... the most amazing part of the book is the details about the state of medical knowledge back then, which was very crude, to say the least... if you're out for a great, inspiring read, pick this book up, you won't be disappointed...

5.0 out of 5 stars A WOMAN WHO REFUSED TO BE BANNED, May 19, 2009

By	Suzi "Suzi Q" - See all my reviews

A powerful book about early medical practices and medicines and one woman's desire to become one of the first few female doctors in the 1800's, when both males and females would cross the street avoiding her in her determination to enter this field. She could not share conversations, meals and the like during her school years, after finally eliminating her first name on a medical school application gained entrance. This was an era when women held back from being attended by a male doctor due to modesty (and doctors even had longer stethoscopes to not get too close to a woman!) Even a woman doctor's diploma had to be specially made. Many deaths were caused by women holding back a necessary medical exam. And here arrives Dr. Samantha Hargrave to show them "her stuff"!!
Dr. Samantha Hargrave persists and this novel covers two continents, many friends and one special man who captures her heart. She loves, she loses, she fights with unbelievable ambition and energy to beat the odds in her determination to be a doctor. You'll find yourself unable to put this book down, all the while learning just how far we've come, and how fortunate we are now and will be in the future.
If you like a novel about spirited women...this is Domina.

5.0 out of 5 stars a history lesson with a spoonful of sugar, January 16, 2006

By	The Literary Assassin "writer and critic" (Kansas City, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Domina (Hardcover)

An apparently well-researched overview of the developments of late-19th-century medicine, wrapped in a quasi-romantic feminist story. I picked this up in the swap-library at my office, and it was just a stroke of good fortune because I happened to be writing a book myself set in 1880, in which one of the characters was a woman doctor. This novel is an engaging read and a good starting point from which to delve into Victorian life and medicine. Since I've been doing deeper research I've found that most of the character's demi-lectures on medical progress were accurate as well as interesting.

Of course, it's also an early-eighties epic melodrama; there's plenty of tragedy and sweeping romance: mysterious benefactors and lost loves and the typical disadvantaged childhood to overcome. The romance subplot is occasionally overwrought, when the hero declares his love and the music swells and they fall into each other's arms--it's a tad out-of-step with the tone of the rest of the book, but mercifully those moments are kept to a minimum. It's not a great book, but it's good, and I liked it enough I figure I'll read it again.