Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (Schomburg Library of 19th Century Black Women Writers) (Paperback)

~ (Author), William L. Andrews (Introduction) "I was born in the town of Kingston, in the island of Jamaica, some time in the present century..." (more)
Key Phrases: Spring Hill, British Hotel, Navy Bay (more...)

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Review

Mary Seacole, a free-born Jamaican Creole, claims that from her Scottish father she received her energy and vitality, and from her Jamaican "doctress" mother she learned the healing skills that she used throughout her life. As a child living near an English military base, Mary Seacole watches and helps her mother treat the military personnel seeking medical attention, and develops a lifelong feeling of affection for the British. When her husband dies, Mary earns her living by doctoring. In Panama, Yankees who admire her skill offer to bleach her "yeller" skin. Her response is typically blunt: "As to the society which the process might gain me admission into, all I can say is, that, judging from the specimens I have met here and elsewhere, I don't think that I shall lose much by being excluded from it." The Crimea war breaks out in 1854 and Mary learns that many British officers she knew in Jamaica are fighting there. With characteristic perseverance, in spite of obstacles placed in her path, she finally arrives there. Though she describes her battlefield experiences with much humor, she feels deeply the horrors of war and loss of life. A woman independent beyond her times, Mary Seacole's spirit still has much to teach. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Seacole's urbanity and cosmopolitan wit, along with her indomitable spirit and frankness about her own troubles, make her narrative one of the most readable and rewarding black women's autobiographies of the nineteenth century."--William L. Andrews, in his Introduction --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 29, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195066723
• ISBN-13: 978-0195066722
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #685,114 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mother Seacole's adventures makes you thirst for excitement, August 13, 2006

By	Kali "bengaligirl" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Mary Seacole's reputation after the Crimean War certainly rivalled that of her counterpart Florence Nightingale but for a very long time she was a forgotten footnote in history, and this probably had a lot to do with the fact she was not a white middle class woman, but was instead the offspring of two races, that of a Scottish father and a black Jamaican mother.

She was a born healer and a woman of tremendous energy, she overcame official indifference and racial prejudice as she strove to prove her worth as a Nurse on par with Nightingale herself.

Seacole got herself out to the war by her own efforts and at her own expense, she risked her life to bring comfort to the wounded and dying soldiers; and became one of the first black woman to make a mark on British public life.

But while Florence Nightingale has gone down in history, Mary Seacole was relegated to obscurity until very recently.

This book tells her story in her own words, of her travels, her experiences, her life as a woman in colour living in a time of bigotry, prejudice and racial hatred.

It's a fantastic book and brings to life in its many pages a woman of courage and moral conviction that what she was doing with her life was the right thing to do. To me Mary Seacole optimises the Crimean War in a way that Nightingale never can. A book worthy to be read in schools in the way that Anne Frank is read even now in the 21st century.