Dr. Elsie Inglis

Frances BalfourProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 336K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Dr. Elsie Inglis by Lady Frances BalfourAuthor: Balfour, Frances, Lady, 1858-1931,Language: English, Class: R: Medicine, Release Date: Mar 9, 2016

Editor's review

This is Frances Balfour's biography of Dr. Elsie Inglis, an important text in the early twentieth-century tradition of writing about British women in public life. Dr. Inglis devoted her medical expertise to wartime medical service, and her career links several threads: women's entry into the professions, the mobilization of voluntary organizations, and wartime medical relief. Balfour herself was long active in the women's suffrage movement, which gives the biography a distinct perspective on women's public action beyond the account of an individual life. Its value for readers lies in the fact that it is both a personal biography and a window onto how women of the period entered the public sphere through professional competence. The prose reflects early twentieth-century English biographical style: detailed in narration and explicit in judgment, so readers should note its standpoint and period vocabulary. It will appeal to readers interested in medical history, women's history, and the social history of the First World War. As a public-domain e-book, this edition has no modern annotations; place names, institutional names, and personal relationships should be checked as needed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in British women's history and the women's suffrage movement
History enthusiasts studying First World War medical relief and voluntary organizations
Medical history readers interested in women's entry into the medical profession
Readers who enjoy early twentieth-century English biographical prose

Not a good fit for

Researchers expecting modern scholarly annotation and source criticism
Readers seeking light storytelling who have no interest in historical figures' lives
Readers who struggle with English and are unwilling to consult reference works for background

Reading tips

Begin with the table of contents and preface to grasp the stages of the subject's life and the author's standpoint.
Consult a First World War timeline and background on relief organizations as you read.
Compare with biographies of other women medical pioneers to contrast their career paths.
Stay alert to the author's evaluative statements, distinguishing factual account from expressed standpoint.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Who was Dr. Elsie Inglis?

According to the materials, she is the subject of this book, a British woman doctor. The biography was written by Lady Balfour and recounts her life and public activities. The materials provide no further detail; readers can learn about her concrete experiences in medicine and wartime relief from the main text.

Who is the author, Lady Balfour?

The materials identify the author as Frances Balfour (1858–1931). She was a participant in the British women's movement and a longtime supporter of women's suffrage. The biography therefore carries a perspective of women's public action, and readers should note its evaluative leanings.

Is the English in this book difficult?

The text is an early twentieth-century English biography, with longer sentences and much period vocabulary, making it harder than modern popular works. Readers with intermediate or better English can work through it with a dictionary; those unfamiliar with the background should first acquire basic knowledge of the First World War and the British women's movement.

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About the author

Frances Balfour Author · British · 1858–1931

Lady Frances Balfour (1858–1931) was a British writer and the sister of the politician Balfour. Public information about her life and education is limited, but it is clear that she was known for writing biographies and works on religious subjects. The library holds one of her representative works, Dr. Elsie Inglis, a biography that recounts the life of its subject. Her writing drew largely on real people and matters of faith, and her style is plain and careful, with attention to factual detail and the portrayal of character. Such works offer useful texts for later readers seeking to understand the figures and times she wrote about, and reflect her sustained engagement as a woman author in biography and religious writing.