From New York Times bestselling author Helen Rappaport comes a superb and revealing biography of Mary Seacole that is testament to her remarkable achievements and corrective to the myths that have grown around her. Raised in Jamaica, Mary Seacole first came to England in the 1850s after working in Panama. She wanted to volunteer as a nurse and aide during the Crimean War. When her services were rejected, she financed her own expedition to Balaclava, where her reputation for her nursing—and for her compassion—became almost legendary. Popularly known as ‘Mother Seacole’, she was the most famous Black celebrity of her generation—an extraordinary achievement in Victorian Britain. She regularly mixed with illustrious royal and military patrons and they, along with grateful war veterans, helped her recover financially when she faced bankruptcy. However, after her death in 1881, she was largely forgotten. More recently, her profile has been revived and her reputation lionised, with a statue of her standing outside St Thomas's Hospital in London and her portrait—rediscovered by the author—now on display in the National Portrait Gallery. In Search of Mary Seacole is the fruit of almost twenty years of research and reveals the truth about Seacole's personal life, her "rivalry" with Florence Nightingale, and other misconceptions. Vivid and moving, In Search of Mary Seacole shows that reality is oftem more remarkable and more dramatic than the legend.

Mary Seacole (1805 to 1881) was an amazing woman, in many ways way ahead of her time. She was a free black woman born in Jamaica of Scottish and Creole descent. This is her autobiographical account of her colourful and brave life. She was named 'the greatest black Briton' in 2004 and also posthumously awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit.

The life of pioneering Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole gets its dramatic due in a sweeping and stunning biography. Mary Seacole spent much of her life on the front lines of the Crimean War, ministering to the wounded, caring for soldiers, and making her mark on the world of medicine. This fascinating biography honors Mary Seacole’s life, from her childhood in Kingston, Jamaica, and her encounters with racist Americans to her treatment of cholera patients in Panama and her bitter run-in with Florence Nightingale, who declined to work with her in Crimea because she wasn’t white. But Mary Seacole knew that the sick and wounded needed her compassion and care, and despite all obstacles, she answered the call to help them. Author Susan Goldman Rubin gives voice to this fearless nurse and healer through captivating details drawn from Mary Seacole’s own writings, while debut illustrator Richie Pope vividly captures her service at the bedside and on the battlefield. Inspiring and engaging, this biography introduces a compelling heroine who rose above barriers to earn a place in history.

'An astonishingly rich story... wonderfully informative' The Times 'Rappaport does a terrific job of bringing respectful rigour to her account of Seacole's extraordinary life' Daily Mail In Search of Mary Seacole is a superb and revealing biography that explores her remarkable achievements and unique status as an icon of the 19th century, but also corrects some of the myths that have grown around her life and career. Having been raised in Jamaica and worked in Panama, Mary Seacole came to England in the 1850s and volunteered to help out during the Crimean War. When her services were turned down, she financed her own expedition to Balaclava, where she earned her reputation as a nurse and for her compassion. Popularly known as 'Mother Seacole', she was the most famous Black celebrity of her generation - an extraordinary achievement in Victorian Britain. She regularly mixed with illustrious royal and military patrons and they, along with grateful war veterans, helped her recover financially when she faced bankruptcy. However, after her death in 1881, she was largely forgotten for many years. More recently, her profile has been revived and her reputation lionised, with a statue of her standing outside St Thomas's Hospital in London and her portrait - rediscovered by the author - is now on display in the National Portrait Gallery. In Search of Mary Seacole is the fruit of almost twenty years of research by Helen Rappaport into her story. The book reveals the truth about Seacole's personal life and her 'rivalry' with Florence Nightingale, along with much more besides. Often the reality proves to be even more remarkable and dramatic than the legend.

Mary Seacole is now known for her medical work in the Crimean war, and as a brilliant woman who combated the racial prejudice she experienced in her lifetime. But for a long time her story was lost. From growing up in Kingston, Jamaica as the daughter of a doctress to helping soldiers in the war, discover the details of the amazing life that Mary Seacole led in this beautifully illustrated book with real-life stories, timelines and facts.

This account contains important lessons for those of us who care, and demonstrates why she was voted the greatest black Briton in 2004.' Sarah Mullaly, Church Times Mary Seacole was born in Jamaica in 1805. She came to England in the hope of serving as a nurse in the Crimean War. Through sheer tenacity she eventually travelled to the Crimea with a letter of introduction from an English doctor to Florence Nightingale.After reading this letter, 'the Lady with the Lamp,' said she would be very happy to do all she could to help. Amidst many dangers, and against all odds, the unknown Jamaican nurse won deserved praise for devoted service to the British soldiers she 'mothered' during the Crimean campaign.

Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857) is one of the earliest autobiographies of a mixed-race woman. In her autobiography, Seacole records her bloodline thus: "I am a Creole, and have good Scots blood coursing through my veins. My father was a soldier of an old Scottish family." Legally, she was classified as a mulatto, a multiracial person with limited political rights. Seacole emphasises her personal vigour in her autobiography, distancing herself from the contemporary stereotype of the "lazy Creole", She was proud of her black ancestry, writing, "I have a few shades of deeper brown upon my skin which shows me related - and I am proud of the relationship - to those poor mortals whom you once held enslaved, and whose bodies America still owns." She also became widely known and respected, particularly among the European military visitors to Jamaica who often stayed at Blundell Hall. She treated patients in the cholera epidemic of 1850, which killed some 32,000 Jamaicans. However, the erection of a statue of her at St Thomas' Hospital, London, on 30 June 2016, describing her as a "pioneer nurse", has generated controversy and opposition from supporters of Florence Nightingale. Earlier controversy broke out in the United Kingdom late in 2012 over reports of a proposal to add her to the UK's National Curriculum.