The Doctors Blackwell

Starred review from September 14, 2020
Historian Nimura (Daughters of the Samurai) probes the lives of the pioneering Blackwell sisters, Elizabeth (1821–1910) and Emily (1826–1910), in a captivating biography. The author charts the ambitious Elizabeth’s path, as she became the first woman to receive a medical degree from an American medical college, at Geneva College in 1849, and went on to further study medicine in England and work at a maternity hospital in France, where an infection cost her her left eye and, thus, surgical career. The elder Blackwell sister emerges as an impressive but intimidating figure, a rigid idealist who equated illness with moral weakness and who disdained the suffrage movement even as she did much to advance the state of women. As Emily follows in her sister’s footsteps, she is depicted more endearingly, as having a genuine interest in her patients and the “daily, steady effort of medical practice” that Elizabeth lacked. Though Emily often labored in her strong-willed sister’s shadow, she was instrumental, Nimura argues, in the success of their New York Infirmary, founded in 1857. In recounting the lives of two ambitious figures who opened doors for many who came after them, Nimura casts a thoughtful and revelatory new light onto women’s and medical history.

Starred review from October 15, 2020
Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S., is a recognized pioneer, but her fight to complete her training and establish her career was part of a group effort. Elizabeth worked alongside another Dr. Blackwell, her younger sister Emily (the third woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S.), and other women who sought admission to the medical profession in the U.S., the UK, and France. NEH Public Scholar Award-winning author Nimura (Daughters of the Samurai, 2015) brings their world vividly to life in this portrait of the sisters and their professional partnership, which culminated in the establishment of a New York City clinic and, in 1869, a women's medical school. Nimura deftly reveals the differences between their experiences and ours through explorations of the theories, practices, and controversies of mid-nineteenth-century medicine; the Blackwells' ambiguous relationships with the women's rights and women's education movements; and the niche that they and other women found as practitioners for the poor, benefiting from the willingness of the wealthy to consign charity care to the women doctors who they themselves would not patronize. With the fiercely intelligent, prickly sisters at the center, Nimura's engrossing and enlightening group biography is highly recommended.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

December 1, 2020
A riveting dual biography of America's first female physicians. In this follow-up to Daughters of the Samurai (2015), Nimura chronicles the lives and work of Elizabeth (1821-1910) and Emily (1826-1910) Blackwell, America's first and third women to earn medical degrees, deftly weaving together a dramatic true story that reads like a work of historical fiction. Bright and determined, the sisters received their hard-won medical degrees a few years apart. Even though she found bodily functions "disgusting," Elizabeth was a pioneer in the genderless pursuit of common good through education; Emily held an aligned ideology, but she became more concerned with practical medical application. Maintaining narrative momentum, Nimura packs the text with evocative, memorable vignettes--e.g., the sisters aweing entire lecture halls into stunned silence or eruptions of applause with their wit and courage, battling life-threatening illnesses, or enjoying encounters with a variety of historical figures. As different as they were alike, both sisters met seemingly insurmountable obstacles with inspiring displays of fortitude. Refreshingly, the author does not portray these women as one-dimensional figures of women's suffrage, which they resolutely were not. Instead, she describes how both sisters often viewed women without admiration or sisterly affection. For example, she highlights how Elizabeth's "own sympathies lay, to a surprising extent, with the men who were nonplussed by her presence [at medical school]" rather than the women she treated. Peppered with appearances from Abraham Lincoln, Florence Nightingale, Susan B. Anthony, and others, the text is a vibrant landscape that affirms the prominent place of the Blackwell sisters in medical history. Illustrating how they created and activated rich networks of supporters and sympathizers, both men and women, throughout their professional pursuits, Nimura is careful never to embellish one sister's character at the expense of the other. As she clearly demonstrates, each possessed characteristic strengths and weaknesses. A compellingly portrayed and vividly realized biography of triumph and trailblazing.

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Starred review from January 1, 2021

Nimura (Daughters of the Samurai) brings to life the fascinating histories of physicians Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, and their extended family. The Blackwell sisters both had to scrape together the training they needed to become qualified as women doctors in the 19th century, but they chose to follow different paths in their careers. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910), the older sister, was the first woman in the United States to receive an MD. She later became an advocate for women in the profession as well as the field of women's health. With her sister Emily, she went on to establish the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, which is now part of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Emily Blackwell (1826-1910) was a compassionate practicing doctor and teacher at the hospital she cofounded. Both sisters traveled in Europe for training, further studies, and later lecturing, meeting and working with some of the well-known medical figures of the time, including Florence Nightingale. Nimura has done extensive research on her subjects, using archives, letters, contemporary writings, and secondary materials to bring their stories to life. VERDICT This book is an excellent read for those interested in the history of medicine and those who enjoy a well-written biography.--Margaret Henderson, Ramona, CA

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