Historical Fiction

The Girl in His Shadow

Author: Audrey Blake

Average Rating:   4.88 / 5

Trigger Warnings:

Left alone in the world after a deadly disease took the lives of her entire family, Nora Beady is taken in by Dr. Horace Croft, first because of the challenge to save the young orphan who may still die from cholera, and then out of scientific curiosity for the long term effects of her survival. Well aware of how much she owes to the eccentric old surgeon, Nora makes it her life’s work to be useful. Instead of learning to play the piano and other gentler pursuits, she finds ways to help Dr. Croft in his sometimes grisly, and not at all lady-like, scientific research. She may not know how to stitch a perfect rosebud, but her sutures are textbook perfect.  And she may not excel at floral watercolors, but the accuracy of her anatomical dissection illustrations are something to marvel at. 

Better than most surgical students and their mentors, Nora must hide her talent within the walls of Croft’s private clinic.  Women are not allowed to practice medicine and if she were caught the consequences would be disastrous for them both.  When Dr. Croft’s new resident, Dr. Daniel Gibson joins the practice, Nora must pretend that she is less than she is. Dr. Gibson cannot know that Horace’s young ward is in fact more skilled and capable than he is. And as uncomfortable and awkward as she feels in her new lady-like role, Nora would do anything to protect Dr. Croft and his practice from scandal and ridicule. 

But how small can Nora make herself appear when the consequence is the suffering of her patients. How can she not act when she can save lives? Even if it gives Dr. Gibson the ammunition to destroy everything she has built her life on. And what will Nora do when she makes a medical discovery that will cause shockwaves through the medical community? Will she be able to stand aside and allow others to take credit for her work? Or will she damn the consequences and take a stand?

Corinna: 5/5

This book was chosen for book club as our selection for a local author. Audrey Blake is actually an author duo, one from Canada and one from the US. The writing was effortless and felt like it was written with one voice and had a fantastic pace. I quickly read through it.

Being a nurse myself, I have always had a fascination with anything medical, as well as women’s roles in history. The authors did a fantastic job researching each medical case, and it was a great representation of the state of medicine in the 1840s. Nora was a smart, unapologetic woman, she knew her worth and would fight for her chance to show it to the world. Dr. Croft was a rumpled genius and researcher, and I loved that the fact that Nora was a female did not ruffle him. She was simply smart, talented, and that was all he needed to respect her skills and knowledge, even if it was only in the privacy of their home and clinic

Dr. Gibson had a great character arc, going from being appalled that a female would be allowed in surgeries, to being in awe and respecting Nora and her skills. The thought that women and their delicate sensibilities wouldn’t be able to handle seeing anything grotesque is such ridiculousness! One of my favorite quotes from Nora to Dr. Harry Trimble is  “you’ll find women are bred to be nervous, not born to it.” 

The conclusion to the book is refreshingly different than I imagined, and I immediately preordered book 2, The Surgeon’s Daughter, which was released May 10, 2022.

Lydia: 5/5

The fact that this book was written by two different authors is amazing to me. Not once did I notice any discrepancies in writing styles or plot lines that didn’t add up. I appreciated that the authors did so much research into the time period they were writing in and the characters they chose. I adore Nora and the fact that she is a strong female lead who can think for herself. I appreciated that the writers didn’t fall into the typical historical fiction tropes and that it was a rather refreshing storyline. 

Guaranteed if you read this book, you will also fall in love with Nora, Dr Croft and of course the quirky Mrs. Phipps. I cannot wait to dive into book 2 – The Surgeon’s Daughter which was recently released. 

Megan: 5/5 

I was warned that I may not like this book because of the medical aspect of the story. Anything too technical, I don’t understand, and anything too detailed, I get squeamish. Maybe that helped keep my expectations in check, because I had also heard that this book was fantastic. Thankfully, it lived up to those expectations. While I did need to look up definitions (there’s quite the vocabulary in this one!) or Google some of the medical terms/procedures, it didn’t take away from the experience for me.

What I loved most about this book were the characters and their developments. The authors did a good job on the third party POV (point of view). The transitions between characters were smooth and easy to follow along. I appreciated that that was how they decided to share the story. It was a good way to show the characters growth without it feeling inauthentic. I couldn’t stand Dr. Gibson at the beginning because he was so arrogant, but by the end, I had respect for his character. Nora was written well. She was smart, but not conceited and when push came to shove, she stood up for herself despite the world telling her she couldn’t or shouldn’t. The ending was exactly what needed to happen. Anything else would have felt like a cop out and not genuine to the characters. It was refreshing to read a historical fiction that wasn’t related to WWII and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a strong female character.

Sharaya: 4.5 / 5

I really loved this book and quickly devoured it! It was well-researched and the characters were varied, quirky, and complex. I’ve previously read a few books that were set in a similar time period and subject matter, and find it fascinating to witness medical discoveries that we now take for granted and that seem obvious.  It was SO frustrating to witness the idiocy of men and the limitations that they put on women (although to be fair, some of the “well-bred” ladies also helped perpetuate these preconceived notions).  The idea that women were capable of experiencing and surviving childbirth but were too delicate to discuss it is the height of ridiculousness. Nora’s tenacity and insistence on pushing for her place in the world was wonderful.  And while she did struggle at times, I love how unapologetic she was about who she is. I enjoyed Dr. Croft and his eccentricities, even though I sometimes wanted to smack him into paying attention, and I absolutely loathe Vickery.  Dr. Gibson was a great, well-bred foil for the craziness that was 43 Great Queen Street, and it was very interesting to see him wrestle with his ideas and values. Everyone’s character arc was very well done.

I loved the ending and felt like it did justice to the characters and what they had accomplished over the course of the story. I’m really looking forward to reading the second book (The Surgeon’s Daughter) which I ordered immediately upon reaching the book’s conclusion. Do yourself a favor, and pick this up ASAP!

To access a printable list of 10 book club questions, please click here.