The Surgeon’s Daughter – by Audrey Blake – independent book review – Historical Fiction (England, Italy)

THE SURGEON’S DAUGHTER is the second historical novel in the Nora Beady series by Audrey Blake and it continues the story of the talented but home schooled healthcare provider Eleanor Beady. I awarded it four stars on Goodreads.

Despite the fact that it is illegal for women to be practicing surgeons in 1840s London, Nora is desperate to further her studies. She is offered the opportunity to study at the prestigious University of Bologna in Italy, where women CAN earn a medical degree. Of course, that doesn’t mean there is no discrimination against female students. But Nora, already well trained by her quirky but brilliant adoptive father Dr. Horace Croft, feels she will be able to keep up, even as she struggles to understand a new language.

Meanwhile Dr. Daniel Gibson remains in London, expanding his own knowledge and helping Dr. Croft expand and advance their joint practice, though that expansion is getting Dr. Croft deeper and deeper into debt.

As I watched Nora navigate her medical school studies I found I was getting angrier and angrier. As expected, there are male students who ignore and gossip about her, predatory professors who refuse to give her opportunities to learn and discount the knowledge and experience she already has, and quite a few who believe Nora is there only because of undeserved favoritism. (Many of the same issues smart and successful women still face.) Fortunately Nora does find one prominent woman to mentor her and one fellow medical student to befriend her.

Will Nora be able to complete her studies in this hostile environment? If she does, what good will a medical degree do her in England? Can she and Daniel maintain their long distance attachment while she’s away? And what about aging Dr. Croft’s state of health and mounting debt? Will the jealous Dr. Vickery sabotage Dr. Croft again? There’s a lot to resolve.

THE SURGEON’S DAUGHTER is full of emotion (I cried twice) and suspense and a worthy sequel to THE GIRL IN HIS SHADOW. I loved continuing the stories of Nora and Daniel, Dr. Croft and Harry Trimble as they navigate the rapidly expanding medical world of 1840s. I’m hoping there will soon be a third novel in this series.

One interesting note: author Audrey Blake doesn’t actually exist. Audrey Blake is a pseudonym for two women writers who met online but live 1500 miles apart. Authors Regina Sirois, who lives in Kansas, and Jaima Fixsen of Alberta, Canada partnered in creating the Nora Beady series. Fixsen is the author of the popular Fairchild regency romance series. Sirois has authored a number of young adult books.

You may be interested in my review of the first novel in the Nora Beady series, THE GIRL IN HIS SHADOW.