Lucy Osburn, a lady displaced: Florence Nightingale's envoy to Australia

Lucy Osburn (1836-1891) was the founder of modern nursing in Australia who also pioneered the employment of high status professional women in public institutions. Osburn learned her vocation at Florence Nightingale's school of nursing in London, but her relationship with Nightingale was not the smooth discourse of "Victorian ladies". Godden uses extensive and frank correspondence to build an intriguing picture of life for an independent middle-class woman. Osburn's triumphs and trials in New South Wales typify the struggles the colony faced in its relations with the Mother Country, and with new roles in the workplace for women. An enthralling and enlightening read.Judith Godden is the author of 'Lucy Osburn, a lady displaced: Florence Nightingale's envoy to Australia', published 2006 under ISBN 9781920898397 and ISBN 1920898395.