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The Nightingale Girls

By: Donna Douglas
Narrated by: Penelope Freeman
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Summary

Three very different girls sign up as trainee nurses at a big London teaching hospital in 1934. Dora leaves her overcrowded, squalid working-class home for a better life. But has she got what it takes to keep up with other, better-educated girls? And will her hated stepfather ever let her go? Helen is born for the job; her brother is a doctor, her all-powerful mother a hospital trustee. But will Helen’s secret misery be her downfall? An aristocratic rebel, Millie’s carefree attitude will find her up in front of Matron again and again. Will she ever care enough to make a nurse? Or will she go back to the glamorous life she was born to? What have they let themselves in for?

©2012 Donna Douglas (P)2013 Soundings
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What listeners say about The Nightingale Girls

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was my first read from this author and I certainly look forward to the rest of this series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story & excellent narration

I've listened to all the nightingale stories and can't fault any of them. I really love the narrator's voice and her ability to change her tone and accents to suit different characters.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Review

Book good but it was cut short at the end , I thought that I had pressed stop button by mistake .however good narration and brought back memories of my nurse training

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

evocative of an era

Well written and evocative of the era. you feel like you are there with the well written characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant, fantastic book!!

Really enjoyed listening to this book I laughed and couldn’t stop listening until I finish the book. Well done Donna Douglas and well done. Penelope Freeman excellent narrator

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Pleasantly surprised

I thought I would give this book a try as couldn’t find anything else to take my fancy at the time. I am so so glad I tried it as it is a fantastic book. The story keeps you hooked and is great from beginning to end. The narrator is brilliant and her range of characters voices and enthusiasm is just as much a pull to carry on listening as the story itself. So all in all I can highly recommend this book. I am now onto the second book in the series and it is just as good and is keeping me gripped too. Am very glad there is a few books in the series to look forward to.

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2 people found this helpful

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Really well produced

I really enjoyed listening to this book. The narration was very animated and a joy to listen to
I loved the fact it was based around historical nurse training but focused on the characters and not just the medical side.
Really well written and will look for more in this series

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Training and life of the original nightingale nurs

What did you like most about The Nightingale Girls?

The story had me gripped from posh to poor then all had their places to fill.
Each nurse had their own background story to tell which made interesting listening.
All that glitters is not gold springs to mind.

What other book might you compare The Nightingale Girls to, and why?

a long time ago I read a book about young mothers being sent away to convents to have with babies because they were unmarried, this made me think of the hard times they had.

Which character – as performed by Penelope Freeman – was your favourite?

Dora Doyle isn't so lucky as she wasn't from a wealthy background but she was so good with other people and always ready to help others even when they wasn't nice to her.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Helen stood up to her mother.

Any additional comments?

A good listen it leaves you wanting most the follow on book is called Nightingale Sisters,

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Lovely light read

I picked this book up on a whim as part of a 2 for 1 sale, but I'm really glad I did. I found the story thoroughly engaging (even if it was quite predictable). I highly recommend for anyone looking for a bit of light, chick lit, historical fiction.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Story

beautifully written, and superbly narrated.
enjoyed every minute.
following a group of girls entering the medical profession, all with totally different backgrounds, made lovely listening, especially with Penelope as the narrator. can't wait to start the next one.

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