In the Shadow of the Lamp [Kindle Edition]

Susanne Dunlap (Author)

Book Description

It's 1854 and sixteen-year-old Molly would give anything to change her
circumstances as a lowly servant in a posh London house. So when she
hears of an opportunity to join the nurses who will be traveling with
Florence Nightingale to the Crimea, she jumps at the chance. The work is
grueling, the hospital conditions deplorable, and Miss Nightingale a
demanding teacher. Before long, the plight of British soldiers becomes
more than just a mission of mercy as Molly finds that she's falling in
love with both a dashing young doctor and a soldier who has joined the
army to be near her. But with the battle raging ever nearer, can Molly
keep the two men she cares for from harm? A love story to savor, and a
fascinating behind-the-scenes imagining of the woman who became known as the lady with the lamp.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Molly’s exceptionally authentic and appealing character powers this well-crafted novel. An honorable homage and an absorbing read." –Kirkus

About the Author

Susanne Dunlap graduated from Smith College and later earned a PhD in music history from Yale University. She is the author of two historical novels for adults and two novels for teens: The Musician's Daughter and Anastasia's Secret. She divides her time between New York and Massachusetts.www.susannedunlap.com

Product Details

• File Size: 447 KB
• Print Length: 304 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1599905655
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens; 1 edition (April 12, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004VLZ5RW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,128 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific historical fiction for teens April 13, 2011

By M. Tanenbaum VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

her third novel for teens, In the Shadow of the Lamp, follows the adventures of 16-year Molly Fraser, as she joins the nurses traveling with Florence Nightingale to the far-off Crimean war. As the novel opens, Molly loses her job as a chambermaid in one of London's aristocratic mansions when she is unjustly accused of stealing. With no letter of reference, there are few respectable options open to her for employment. Although she is too young and inexperienced to gain employment as one of Miss Nightingale's corps of nurses, by her wits she manages to sneak aboard their ship. When she is found out, the very imposing and strict Miss Nightingale is impressed by Molly's determination to redeem herself and decides to give her a chance to be trained on the job. She warns her that at the first sign of familiarity with any man, she'll be sent packing!

But somehow we know romance will be in Molly's future (this is a YA novel, after all). And not only one handsome young man is after her, but two: Will with the kind eyes, the valet who follows Molly by enlisting in the British army; and Dr. Maclean, a Scottish doctor at the hospital who Molly is intensely attracted to. And Molly finds friendship, too, with another young nurse, Emma. Molly begins to earn the respect of the other nurses when she helps take care of all the ones suffering from seasickness during the ocean voyage to Turkey. Soon they land, and she is amazed by the sights, sounds, and smells of Scutari, where they arrive shortly after the famous charge of the Light Brigade has produced hundreds of casualties, soon to arrive by ship. But when the nurses arrive at the hospital, it's Molly's cleaning and mending experience that comes in handy--the place is filthy, filled with giant rats and lice,with overflowing latrines and piles of mending and washing to be done.

Dunlap makes sure to share some of Nightingale's philosophy of nursing, which was not just to do with giving medicine and bandages. As strange as it seems to us now, her message was revolutionary at the time: provide the sick and wounded with fresh air, warmth, and food, so that their bodies would heal. She soon whips the hospital in Scutari into shape, securing supplies such as beds, fresh straw for mattresses, linens, even curtains to shield the patients from each other when the doctors were performing surgeries. We see her through Molly's eyes, visiting the wards at night with her famous lamp, making sure the men were safe.

Can Molly make something of herself as a nurse? Will she be able to handle the hard work, the horrible sights and smells of the hospital, and Miss Nightingale's strict rules of behavior?

Once again Susanne Dunlap has created an incredibly sympathetic character as her protagonist. Young Molly is far from perfect but is the type of young woman you'd want on your side in a difficult situation--like being at a battlefield hospital far from home. This book combines romance, adventure, and history with an appealing plot and characters with teen appeal.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Parents Should Buy This Book for Their Daughters April 12, 2011

By A Lancaster, PA reader

Format:Hardcover

There are many young adult novels published today with important messages on weighty topics--about bullying, abuse, divorce, death, and more. While these are fine novels, it is refreshing to come across a YA whose main attribute is that it spins a good yarn...while subtly introducing its readers to a slice of history and some lessons on class and love.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE LAMP took me back to one of my greatest reading pleasures as a girl--the historical novel JOHNNY TREMAIN, which absolutely entranced me, plopping me smack-dab in the middle of the Revolutionary War. SHADOW does the same for another period of history, the Crimean War and the birth of modern nursing under the leadership of Florence Nightingale.

But this is no dry history. Ms. Dunlap has infused the tale with a beautiful love story that has the protagonist, young Molly Fraser, torn between two men, both of whom could offer her something special and change her life.

Molly herself is a feisty character who sneaks into Ms. Nightingale's Crimean-bound entourage. She has the temperament but not yet the skill of a nurse. Under Nightingale's tutelage, she gains the latter, learning lessons about love and life along the way.

She's not a stock character, however. Ms. Dunlap has imbued her with realistic aspirations and fears that young women everywhere can relate to.

Parents should feel comfortable buying this book for their daughters, knowing they'll get a good story to keep them interested and a good message about tenacity and hope.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book! June 3, 2011

By Z. Fisher

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Molly was a parlormaid who was unfairly fired. On her way home she haers about Miss Nightengale's nurses. Miss Nightengale is recuiting nurses to nurse the wounded men in Scutari. Molly may not be a trained nurse but she is determined to go with Miss Nightengale.
Throughout the novel Molly makes friends as two men fight for her heart. Will it be the solider who reminds her of home or the doctor who makes her feel slightly dangerous.
I really liked this book and loved the insight about the lady who modernized nursing. I have never read a book set in this time period, so it was new and different. I thought Susane Dunlap was a great author. Now I want to read her other two books the Musician's Daughter and Anastasia's Secret.

More About the Author

I've had a varied work life, writing advertising copy for agencies in New York and London and doing marketing and fundraising for arts organizations. After graduating from Smith College in 1976, I moved to London, where I lived for ten years. I returned to New York with my children in 1986, and soon after that started graduate school. A lifelong writer, I turned to historical fiction after finishing my PhD in music history at Yale University in 1999. I saw it as a way to bring my deep love of music and history to a wider public.

After publishing two adult historical novels with Simon & Schuster, I turned to young adult fiction with The Musician's Daughter, published by Bloomsbury Children's, followed by Anastasia's Secret, about the youngest grand duchess in the doomed Romanov family. In April, 2012, In the Shadow of the Lamp will be published by Bloomsbury. It's the story of a young parlormaid who stows away to go with Florence Nightingale and her nurses to the Crimea.