My Name Is Mary Sutter: A Novel

Summary

In this stunning historical novel, Mary Sutter is a brilliant, headstrongmidwife from Albany, New York, who dreams of becominga surgeon. Determined to overcome the prejudices against womenin medicine—and eager to run away from her recent heartbreak—Mary leaves home and travels to Washington, D.C. to help tendthe legions of Civil War wounded. Under the guidance of WilliamStipp and James Blevens—two surgeons who fall unwittingly inlove with Mary’s courage, will, and stubbornness in the face ofsuffering—and resisting her mother’s pleas to return home to helpwith the birth of her twin sister’s baby, Mary pursues her medicalcareer in the desperately overwhelmed hospitals of the capital.Like Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain and Robert Hicks’s TheWidow of the South, My Name Is Mary Sutter powerfully evokesthe atmosphere of the period. Rich with historical detail (includingmarvelous depictions of Lincoln, Dorothea Dix, GeneralMcClellan, and John Hay among others), and full of the tragediesand challenges of wartime, My Name Is Mary Sutter is an exceptionalnovel. And in Mary herself, Robin Oliveira has created atruly unforgettable heroine whose unwavering determination andvulnerability will resonate with readers everywhere.