With more women than men enrolled in medical school today, it might be hard to imagine a time when females were flatly denied the opportunity to become doctors. This audiobook profiles three pioneering Victorian-era women who helped open the doors to the female medical students who would follow. Jean Ann Douglass offers a first-rate narration of this work. Her tone varies with the content from exasperation with an entrenched male hierarchy to exultation at women finally securing a place among physicians. She uses pauses effectively and without affectation to add drama and to let listeners catch up with the content. The author relies extensively on letters and journals of the women involved, and Douglass enlivens those passages. R.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

11/23/2020

Journalist Campbell debuts with an inspirational group portrait of the first three women who became licensed doctors in the U.S. and the U.K. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910), the first woman to be accepted to an American medical school, got in because the male students who voted for her admittance thought her application was a joke. British physician Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836–1917) worked as a surgical nurse and studied with private tutors to pass the medical licensing exam, and cofounded the first hospital staffed by women. Sophia Jex-Blake (1840–1912) became the first practicing female doctor in Scotland. Though women had always served their communities and families as healers, Campbell writes, “when medicine began to be solidified as a profession... patriarchal control swept in.” She delves into her subjects’ love lives and family relationships; documents their battles against sexist school administrators and professors, including pioneering surgeon Joseph Lister; and notes their support for one another as well as their differences of opinion. At times, Campbell makes it sound as if her subjects were pledging a sorority rather than entering a profession, but her extensive research and lucid writing about medical matters impress. This entertaining account adds a valuable chapter to the history of women and medicine. Agent: Zoe Sandler, ICM Partners. (Mar.)

"A fascinating, absorbing, and inspiring account of three women who set out to become doctors at a time when female doctors were desperately needed but hard to find. By overcoming obstacles of professional discrimination, personal heartaches, and societal suspicions, these women realized their dreams and changed the world." — Nina Sankovitch, bestselling author of American Rebels

"Olivia Campbell's Women in White Coats is a lovingly rendered, joyfully expressed history of extraordinary medical women. With a storyteller's flair, Campbell chronicles their struggles, setbacks, and stridently hard-won triumphs across decades and continents. I emerged from the book both humbled and inspired." — Rachel Vorona Cote, author of Too Much: How Victorian Constraints Still Bind Women Today

"An engrossing portrait of a transformative moment in Victorian medicine, when women doctors demanded the right to heal and be healed. Their battle was collective, and their hard-won triumph is ours. Women in White Coats is a timely reminder of just how many hands it takes to move mountains." — Claire L. Evans, author of Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet

“Campbell's extensive research and lucid writing about medical matters impress. This entertaining account adds a valuable chapter to the history of women and medicine.” — Publishers Weekly

★ 02/01/2021

Using her expert research skills, journalist Campbell writes about the academic journeys and personal lives of three trailblazing Victorian women in the medical profession: Elizabeth Blackwell, Lizzie Garrett, and Sophia Jex-Blake (with appearances from the rest of the Edinburgh Seven). Separately and together, the actions of these three women paved the way for equality for women in the medical field, both in the United States and in Europe. This is the story of how they all had to hold strong against family pressures to comply with societal behavioral norms, use their intelligence and networking connections, and harness persistence. Campbell's research follows an intricate paper trail that includes diaries, letters, and notes. The author hopes that future professionals can be inspired to continue to advocate for equal representation, as modern-day medicine is still affected by the remnants of patriarchal structures and attitudes. VERDICT The story of these trailblazing women and their unique achievements within the medical profession in the 19th century is well written and benefits from bountiful primary sources. It will be a great resource for further in-depth biographical studies. A highly recommended purchase for public library collections, and those that focus on health policy and women in STEM careers.—Elizabeth J. Eastwood, Los Alamos, NM

With more women than men enrolled in medical school today, it might be hard to imagine a time when females were flatly denied the opportunity to become doctors. This audiobook profiles three pioneering Victorian-era women who helped open the doors to the female medical students who would follow. Jean Ann Douglass offers a first-rate narration of this work. Her tone varies with the content from exasperation with an entrenched male hierarchy to exultation at women finally securing a place among physicians. She uses pauses effectively and without affectation to add drama and to let listeners catch up with the content. The author relies extensively on letters and journals of the women involved, and Douglass enlivens those passages. R.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine