Edith Cavell

I received a copy of Edith Cavell by Catherine Butcher from its publishers, Monarch, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

I photographed a stained glass window depicting Edith Cavell while we were in Norwich. I was interested to learn more about this remarkable woman and so was delighted when, soon afterwards, this biography of her was offered for review. Subtitled 'Faith Before The Firing Squad', it is obvious that her story is not going to end well and her execution at the hands of the invading German army in Belgium was the event that secured her 'fame' a century ago this year in 1915. Cavell has faded from popular memory since the First World War, but resurgent interest this year will culminate in the issuing of an official UK coin bearing her image - and not before time!

Catherine Butcher has pieced together Cavell's life from various sources including previously published biographies and original letters. She allows us a glimpse into Cavell's fervently religious childhood, her schooling and early career as a governess, the start of her nursing career and how she led the creation of the nursing profession in Belgium. Unfortunately, although this is only a short book in which to portray such a full life, Butcher has also included a remarkable amount of padding which often made me wonder if she had really accumulated enough material for a whole book. Monarch is a Christian publisher so I expected religious bias, but much of Cavell's early life is taken up with quoting, word for word, passages that she would have heard from the Bible, rather than describing in detail how the family actually lived.

I liked reading excerpts from Cavell's own letters and would have appreciated more of such material. Butcher does give a balanced view of this independent woman and her incredible strength of character. She isn't a saint(!) and it was interesting to learn different people's perceptions of her attitudes and behaviour. However I would have preferred a more in-depth investigation into her life.