The Girl in His Shadow

By: Jaima Fixsen and Regina Sirois (united pen name: Audrey Blake)

Libby ebook 35 chapters

Published: 2021

Genre: historical fiction, romance

Set in 1845 London, little Eleanor is the only survivor of the deadly cholera that took the rest of her family. Taken in (as an experiment - she survived cholera, so is she now immune?) by Dr. Horace Croft, she is raised in an unusual household where dead bodies are delivered by grave robbers during the night and scientific specimens litter the house.

Some of the details were fascinating and very evocative of the era. When Dr. Gibson and Miss Nora Beady started flirting over corpses, it just got weird. 

For her to absorb so much medical knowledge while not being allowed to actively participate outside the confines of Dr. Croft's space was frustrating for Nora. The opportunity to study in Italy opens the door to book two.

Chapter 6: "Women, as the morally superior gender, were made for "sweet ordering," for instilling Christian principles in children and comforting weary men after the trials of the day."

Nora was definitely not a typical woman of her time!

Chapter 13: "All men were destined to end up in the grave. It might be best if he waited here until his day came."

This is after Dr. Gibson (Daniel) went off on Dr. Vickery and got drunk at the club. I don't think most of us think about the fact that we're all destined to end up in the grave. . . . 

Chapter 18: "After that he maintained a steady flow of patients and distracted himself enough that he only felt the stab of remorse and humiliation slice through him once an hour or so."

Poor Daniel! It's awful to torment yourself. The distractions helped, but he was still feeling the sting of his demotion and embarrassment. 

Chapter 33: "Passing muster in French and Latin taxed her to her limit. Believing she could muddle through in Italian . . . but human bodies were the same everywhere, and other students would share notes."

I did like Nora's mental quickness and can do attitude. She is a wonderful protagonist. I can't imagine how hard it was for women to pioneer in traditionally male roles with so much criticism and censure.

Chapter 33: " . . . though his color told her he'd not been dead very long. How quickly they lose all trace of themselves."

Nora is looking at the body of Mr. Wilhems, a person she'd known and helped treat during his life. His dead body no longer looks like him. I think of the open casket funerals I've been to, where there is so much makeup slathered on that the person looks more like a dummy or a wax figurine. Death is not pretty.

Author's Note (Fixsen): "The heartbreaking truth is that thinking women were forced by convention to work anonymously or in the shadow of husbands, brothers, and fathers, and not merely in the field of medicine."

Sad truths about the past. And the present, a little bit?

 

Author's Note (Sirois): ". . . but never has one narrow field of study so seduced me. What pathos! What egos! What terrible courage and heartbreaking ignorance!"

 

I love when authors gush over their interests and that fascination leads to research that results in a book.

I'll probably go ahead and read book two. There were two chapters of it at the end of this book. Way to reel me in!

Although I didn't care for the weird romance scenes (over dead bodies - really?) I liked the compassion and curiosity both Nora and Daniel had toward medical science and helping people have better, healthier lives. I was disappointed in Harry but understood why he did what he did. Mrs. Phipps the housekeeper was a wonderful character. 

I also liked the Author's Notes (there were two people and neither was named Audrey!) and the Q&A with the authors. Very interesting.