New Novel, Louisa’s Lament By Annie Graham, Grips With The True Story Of 1880’s Brutal Misogyny And Vicious Medical Politics

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best book magazine in the UK“, Annie Graham’s Louisa’s Lament follows nurse Louisa Ingle who, like Florence Nightingale, brought much needed changes to the nursing profession, before being found guilty of manslaughter and sent to Newgate prison.

Louisa’s Lament

Intriguing and eye-opening, Louisa’s Lament by Annie Graham is a gripping historical fiction novel which informs and entertains in equal measure to share the story of a very dark time in the reform of Britain’s nursing profession.

Annie Graham shares the story of the crisis at London’s Guy’s Hospital in the 1880’s, and the conflict between the medical fraternity’s reformers and traditionalists. Used as a pawn in the whole anti-feminist debacle, nurse Louisa Ingle ends up sent to prison for a murder she didn’t commit. Louisa’s Lament is a pertinent reminder that despite progress in gender equality, misogyny in the workplace remains a significant concern.

How did Louisa Ingle go from being a hard-working nurse at London’s Guy’s Hospital to despised outcast, shunned and condemned for manslaughter? Caught in a bitter dispute between the hospital’s reformers and traditionalists, Louisa was a scapegoat for the warring factions when the conflict tumbled out of control in the summer of 1880.

Louisa’s Lament is the story of that struggle and her downfall, and how she learned of the conspiracy that entangled her and drove her into deep despair at the rank injustice of her betrayal. But it is also the inspiring true story of a group of pioneering women as they stepped out of Florence Nightingale’s shadow to establish the value of nursing as a profession for independent women.

A labour of love for Annie Graham, she uses her expertise from working in London teaching hospitals, and consulting on inter-professional conflict, to demonstrate how far we have come since Louisa’s times, but with still an awful long way to go, this standout novel leaves a lasting impact on all that pick up a copy.

All proceeds from the sale of this book go to The Students’ Hardship Fund at Birkbeck College, London University, in honour of its 200th anniversary (having been founded in 1823).

Annie Graham

Annie Graham has consulted and taught on inter-professional conflict for over thirty years, with a PhD in Organisational Psychology, and a special interest in medical power structures and behaviours.

Annie trained as a pharmacist and worked in several London Teaching Hospitals before studying economics and organisational behaviour and working as an academic.

She has a Diploma in the Social History of Medicine and an MA in Nineteenth Century Studies which she uses to write fact-based novels to illuminate the ways in which organisations succeed and fail.

Find more from Annie Graham now:

Kindle: https://amzn.to/3S52I7j

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3S1JS11

Hardcover: https://amzn.to/425orki

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