Dr. Richard Bates publishes two Florence Nightingale articles

Ahead of this year’s International Nurses’ Day, Dr Richard Bates has been involved with two recently published academic articles by members of the ‘Nightingale Comes Home’ project. These articles are currently free to access.

 The articles are:

• ‘Florence Nightingale and Responsibility for Healthcare in the Home’

Written by Richard Bates and Jonathan Memel, this article explores how Nightingale thought about who was responsible for funding and providing healthcare, and how her views evolved over time. It puts Nightingale’s views into the context of changing societal attitudes to healthcare in the 19th century, as Western societies moved from religious and philanthropic models of care towards greater state funding and involvement.

 Published in the inaugural edition of the European Journal for the History of Medicine and Health, this article is free to read via the link above.

•  ‘Could Nightingale get cancelled? The rise, endurance, and possible fall of Florence Nightingale in British historical culture since 1854’

Written by Richard Bates and Anna Greenwood, this article charts the ups and downs of Nightingale’s reputation in Britain since she became a national celebrity in 1854. As well as examining the 19th century cultural practices and tropes that informed her early celebrity, it brings the story of her reputation up to the present day and covers recent controversies such as that concerning Mary Seacole - hence the question in the title.

Published in Women’s Historical Review, this article is free to read via the link above.

I hope you will enjoy reading these articles - feel free to share the links with anyone else who may be interested. Do let Richard know if you have any problems accessing either article.