A Volunteer Nurse on the Western Front

Oct 30, 2024 11:35 PM

Author:Olive Dent

Starring Oona Chaplin as a V.A.D. (Voluntary Aid Detachment), and Suranne Jones and Hermione Norris as trained nurses, The Crimson Field is a gripping drama set in a tented hospital on the coast of France, where plucky real-life V.A.D. Olive Dent served two years of the Great War, and kept this extraordinarily vivid diary of day-to-day life – ever cheerful through the bitter cold, the chilblains, hunger and exhaustion.

Resilient, courageous and resourceful, nurses, doctors and patients alike do their best to support each other. A Christmas fancy-dress ball, a concert performed by a stoic orchestra covered in bandages, church services held in a marquee and letters from Blighty all keep spirits up in camp, as wounded soldiers suffer terribly with quiet dignity on the makeshift wards, and nurses rush round tirelessly to make them as comfortable as possible.

With original illustrations throughout by fellow V.A.D.s, Olive’s memoir is a fascinating period piece, a rare first-hand account of this little-known story, which will resonate very strongly with viewers of The Crimson Field.

Reviews

Nick Bunker dazzles the reader with a deeply researched and clear-eyed accounting of the dissolution of the mighty—but woefully overextended—British Empire. Bunker's mellifluous prose fairly jumps off the page, drawing the reader deeper and deeper into this intricate and fascinating tale

—— William D. Cohan

Utterly absorbing and full of colour, we learn afresh what a mess Britain made of leaving America and, crucially and importantly, how that mess shaped the American psyche

—— Justin Webb, BBC

Highly readable account of the American Revolutionary crisis… A bracing gallop through the three years leading up to the "shot heard round the world" at Lexington, Mass., in April 1775 and an especially lucid portrait of the woes of the East India Co. A broad and telling portrait of the empire at a remarkable moment in its history

—— Wall Street Journal

This wonderfully written book invites reflection on how a failure of political imagination so often makes war in distant places seem inevitable

—— T. H. Breen , The Times Literary Supplement

Bunker’s tightly argued and deeply researched book shows how a broader perspective can shed new light on even the most familiar events

—— Foreign Affairs

An insightful and aptly acerbic account of the lead-up to the unnecessary loss of America … The book is especially good on the commercial imperatives that draw both sides to desperation: on the private greed and the arbitrary interferences that persuaded reasonable men to risk their lives

—— Geoffrey Robertson, QC

A nuanced global analysis of Britain’s failure to hold onto its American colonies… Riveting… With a sharp eye for economic realities, Bunker persuasively demonstrates why the American Revolution had to happen

—— Publishers Weekly

A scholarly yet page-turning, superbly written history.

—— Kirkus

Bunker’s narrative is human and even-handed; and from the Boston harbourside to the salons of London, a complex and epic tale is told with colour and enthusiasm. It should even go down well in Boston

—— Sinclair McKay, 4 stars , Sunday Telegraph

Bunker relates the complex story of the Boston Tea Party with zest and almost intimidating thoroughness

—— David Goodall , Tablet

This is a compelling read that explains British decision-making with skill and insight. Highly recommended

—— Andrew Lambert , BBC History Magazine

Shows how a lethal blend of politics and personalities led to the American Revolution

—— Choice Magazine

Bunker has done a wonderful job describing the tragedy of errors that led to a bitter and costly war

—— Good Book Guide

A distinguished and refreshing contribution to the secondary literature on the American Revolution

—— Andrew J O’Shaughnessy , Literary Review

[It is] brilliantly written and meticulously researched.

—— Simon Shaw , Mail on Sunday

A vigorous book, full of energy as well as insight

—— Jeremy Black

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