Basil Miller’s Florence Nightingale: The Lady of the Lamp tells vividly the life of Florence Nightingale, the woman who revolutionized nursing. Although she faced family opposition to her dream of becoming a nurse, she obeyed her God-given call to nursing. Even in her nursing career, she experienced obstacles and difficulties. But she pushed on forward and the humble, modest woman became a national hero. Miller’s Florence Nightingale: The Lady of the Lamp shows the effect of sacrificial service and faith in God can have on one’s life.
In Florence’s case, sacrificial service earned her fame. She, along with thirty-eight other nurses, were sent to Scutari, Albania, and tended to the soldiers who had been wounded in the Crimean War. Florence was disgusted by the living conditions of which the soldiers suffered. In fact, “She found the men lying in their uniforms, stiff with blood, covered with filth, their hair blood-matted. Maggots crawled over them. The sheets, made of course canvas, were so rough that the wounded begged the nurses and doctors to leave them in their blood-soaked blankets” (64-65). Taking action, Florence wrote to health officials, demanding the funds to eliminate the appalling conditions. In less than two months, the filth, hunger, and loneliness were replaced with cleanliness, wholesome food, and loving care. Others eventually started taking notice of the nurse’s work, and even Queen Victoria of England, “desiring to show personal gratitude for her [Florence Nightingale’s] brave deeds, wrote Florence shortly after the public meeting and sent her a jeweled decoration” (89). But even with recognition from the queen herself, instead of basking in her fame, Florence used her influence to institute healthcare reforms and eventually founded the Red Cross. People from all walks of life in Europe and even America respected and loved “The Lady of the Lamp”.
Florence Nightingale credited much of her success to God, and described nursing as her God given call. Miller stated that, “Florence believed that under God she had been divinely commissioned to give the benefits of nursing to the entire population” (112). Although the author doesn’t indicate whether or not Florence was saved, however, the author does portray her as a faithful servant of God, and dedicated to His work. All the years of endless labor took a toll on her body and she was an invalid for the last forty years of her life. “She had but one motto, ‘…work, work, work,’ and work she did, inspired by the conviction that her calling was divine” (116). When Florence died on August 13, 1919, she was buried in the churchyard at East Wellow. Before she died she said, “Live your life while you still have it….Life is a splendid gift. There is nothing small in it, for the greatest things grow by God’s law out of the smallest” (124-125).
Basil Miller’s Florence Nightingale: The Lady of the Lamp demonstrates how sacrificial service and faith in God can make a difference in one’s life. Even though the author took a while to get to the climax and seemed to use a form of Old English, the book was beautiful, and an enjoyable book.
*Note: This book might be out of print. I got it from my school library.
