Helen Dore Boylston (1895–1984)

“Follow the cannon!” called a woman's voice, and with that order a supply wagon drawn by mules jolted and jounced over the rough Virginia road and swung into a corn field. A rather slight young woman climbed out of the wagon, filled her arms with bandages, dressings and stimulants, and waded through the corn in a deafening roar of artillery.

To the four surgeons working at fever pitch in the nearby farmhouse, these hospital supplies seemed like the answer to prayer. And to the three show more hundred wounded men who lay in the farmyard, Clara Barton seemed like an angel of mercy.

The time was 1861, during the War Between the States. The place was the battle scarred countryside near the village of Antietam. In those days there was not one trained nurse in the whole United States. Women worked heroically in base hospitals, but a battlefield was not considered a suitable place for a woman. Clara Barton thought differently, and made a magnificent contribution in bringing up supplies, organizing first aid stations, and assisting in field hospitals.

In Clara Barton, Founder of the American Red Cross, Helen Dore Boylston tells the amazing story of the shy young school teacher whose wartime nursing service grew into a peacetime service that resulted in a worldwide organization to help all who suffer. show less

I think this is my favourite of the series. I love reading about Sue's work in the streets of New York, how she has to be imaginative and think up solutions to problems she'd never have met at the hospital. I have to admit I'm on Sue's side in her fight with Billy - I'd be very hurt too if my husband-to-be didn't understand I had to do something as important to me as the Henry Street work is to Sue. After all, she's not asking him to wait longer than they originally planned, but he is asking show more her to quit sooner... Ah well, at least they figured it out in the end.

The rest of the series I've only read once each, and that more than 15 years ago, so it'll be interesting to see how much I remember, once I tackle them again :) show less

This book series by Boylston made me decide that I wanted to be a nurse. I remember checking them out at the library and reading them again and again. That was the image of nursing that I carried in my head while I was growing up; of course my experience of student nursing and then "real" nursing was nothing like these books, this first in the series written in 1936. Since Boylston herself studied nursing at Mass General before WWI, the stories of red-headed Sue and her nurses' training show more friends are even more dated than the 1936 publication date would suggest.

When I was reading a biography of Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, I discovered that Boylston and Lane were good friends (maybe more than friends, I don't know, don't care) and that Boylston probably had the idea about writing the series when she was living at the Missouri Wilder farm. Rose encouraged her to write, and it's ironic that Boylston was far more successful with her writing than Rose.

I absolutely hate those modern book covers, by the way. They're anachronistic and absurd. I bought the paperback reprint set that was published in 2008 by Image Cascade Publishing. The books were orginally published by Little, Brown, & Company. show less

Published by Little, Brown in 1936, the first book in this popular series introduces us to 18-year-old Sue Barton as she embarks on her nursing career. Boylston’s portrayal of the career girl provided a role model to millions of girls and paved the way for other popular career novels. Cherry Ames, Student Nurse, published in 1943, was another successful series that also mixed the career and mystery genres.

The book follows Sue as she navigates her first year in nursing school. In those show more days, girls boarded at the hospital and spent most of their time in classes and in shifts on the various wards. Sue makes fast friends with Kit and Connie, often runs into the handsome Dr. Barry, and endures the harsh teaching of Miss Cameron. The chapters are mostly episodic and mix fun stories of the girls sneaking into their dorm with tales of Sue dealing with unruly patients. Sue is a likable and relatable character. She makes mistakes, but learns from them, and she struggles with whether or not she truly has the selflessness to be a nurse. Some of the other characters are well developed, but many, including the patients, tend to be one-sided. The overall tone is very light and it’s quick to read, though it does touch on a few darker subjects, including suicide, and some of the descriptions of medical care deserve a skim. Most of my enjoyment came from the novelty of looking back at a bygone era and I suspect that will be its only appeal for modern teens. show less