Florence Nightingale: The Making of a Radical Theologian [Hardcover]

Val Webb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

In Florence Nightingale, Val Webb brilliantly reveals the full and fascinating life of this radical reformer, activist, theologian, and servant of God.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"When very many years ago I planned a future, my one idea was not organizing a hospital but organizing a religion." ----Florence Nightingale

"Val Webb's carefully crafted study of Florence Nightingale's religious works, her letters and diaries, reveals some surprising and little known aspects of this great nineteenth-century woman pioneer reformer. Her posthumously published writings are evidence of a strong religious vocation and of unexpectedly radical theological thought, resonating more with contemporary feminist theology and process thought than with the Victorian ideas of her own days. This book shows the complex personality, brilliant mind, and deeply religious motivation of this God-intoxicated woman, who is both a mystic and a militant, an original thinker and great innovative doer. Much of this comes as a great surprise and challenge to the reader. Webb's study is a fine example of the new kind of scholarship on Florence Nightingale. It is a most vivid account and truly engrossing read." ----Ursula King, Center for Comparative Studies in Religion and Gender, University of Bristol

"Florence Nightingale claimed that her one aim in life was to organize a religion, not a hospital. Val Webb takes the legendary lamp from the sentimental image of Nightingale, to shed new light on the previously undervalued passion of her life. Here we meet Nightingale the mystic and theologian, activist and intellectual, who drank from her own well of experience with impoverished and suffering people. Webb's historical and narrative expertise recovers Nightingale's voice from amongst her Victorian contemporaries to introduce us to a truly innovative and constructive theologian in her own right." ---Nancy Victorin-Vangerud, Lecturer in Systematic Theology, Murdoch University, Australia

"She was not 'the lady with the lamp.' She was the lady with the brain-one of those rare personalities who reshape the contours of life." ---Sir Edward T. Cook, biographer, 1913

About the Author

Born and educated in Brisbane, Australia, Val Webb has degrees in both science and religion from the University of Queensland, Australia, and a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. She is on the adjunct faculties of the University of Minnesota and Augsburg College, and is a visiting lecturer at Whitley College, Melbourne, Australia, and Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia. She is the author of four books, including In Defense of Doubt: An Invitation to Adventure and Why We're Equal: Introducing Feministy Theology from Chalice Press.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 363 pages
• Publisher: Chalice Press; 1 edition (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0827210329
• ISBN-13: 978-0827210325
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #839,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and highly recommended biography, June 5, 2002

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Florence Nightingale: The Making of a Radical Theologian (Hardcover)

Florence Nightingale: The Making Of A Radical Theologian by theologist and biographer Val Webb is a fascinating study of the little-known yet fiery and passionate religious beliefs held and shared by the world-famous nursing and hospital reformer, feminist, and social activist. In the Victorian times when Nightingale lived, the inequalities of the stratified British "class" society worried her, and she came to espouse a vigorous liberation theology and followed a deeply spiritual and intimately personal quest for Truth. Amazingly informative, meticulously researched and openly candid, Florence Nightingale: The Making Of A Radical Theologian is a unique and highly recommended biography of an influential and devout historical figure.