Hospital Sketches

Reproduction of the original: Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott

An account of Alcott's experiences as a nurse during the Civil War.

The present book titled 'Hospital Sketches' is a collection of some of the rmarkable sketches drawn by famous writer, artist Louisa May Alcott. It was first published in the year 1863.

"Hospital Sketches, authored by Robert Swain Peabody, offers poignant and evocative insights into the world of healthcare and its impact on patients and caregivers. Through vivid sketches and heartfelt narratives, Peabody provides a window into the experiences, challenges, and emotions that characterize life within hospitals. This book stands as a compelling testament to the human spirit's resilience and compassion in the face of illness and adversity."

Written by the author of Little Women during the winter of 1862–63, these memoirs reveal the realities of battlefield medicine as well as the tentative first steps of women in military service.

A good fit of illness proves the value of health; real danger tries one's mettle; and self-sacrifice sweetens character. Through a series of letters sent home while serving as a volunteer nurse for the Union Army, Louisa May Alcott created a raw and honest story of battlefield medicine during the American Civil War. Featuring a series of compassionate portraits of the soldiers she encountered, Hospital Sketches both recounted the desperate struggles of hospital life during wartime and gave a personal narrative of women's growing role in medicine and the military. The letters brought Alcott immediate recognition and began an astonishingly successful literary career that culminated in the publication of Little Women.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1871. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

Hospital Sketches: These sketches, taken from letters hastily written in the few leisure moments of a very busy life, make no pretension to literary merit, but are simply a brief record of one person's hospital experience. To those who have objected to a "tone of levity" in some portions of the sketches, I desire to say that the wish to make the best of everything, and send home cheerful reports even from that saddest of scenes, an army hospital, probably produced the impression of levity upon those who have never known the sharp contrasts of the tragic and comic in such a life. - Preface