This talk explores the importance of the home to Florence Nightingale’s life and work. One of the greatest public health reformers, we still benefit hugely from her efforts two hundred years after her birth in 1820. The talk draws on our book Florence Nightingale at Home (Palgrave, 2020) which won The People's Book Prize 2021/2022 for Best Achievement. This is a national prize ‘given each year to the author whose book advances the human condition, benefitting their community or the world at large in some way.’

Home was key for all of us in the pandemic—as a place of confinement, of work, and of leisure. Home has also proved both sweet and sour, a prison to some and a sanctuary to others. Nightingale experienced both sides of the home equation, battling to leave her family home to gain more independence and belonging in work.

Some reviews: • Professor Robert Dingwall, Nottingham Trent University. "This is the most important study of Florence Nightingale’s life and work for a generation. Using newly available sources, the authors set her firmly within the political, cultural and spiritual life of Victorian Britain as someone who both transcended and reflected the roles traditionally available to women of her class." • Professor Anne-Marie Rafferty CBE, President, Royal College of Nursing "This brilliant book deftly uses the device of ‘home’ to interrogate the life and achievements of Florence Nightingale. By doing so it bring a new interpretive lens on the role that ‘home’ played in her reform efforts and breathes new life into this ever fascinating nurse and cultural icon."
• Professor Christine Hallett, Professor of Nursing History, University of Huddersfield: "Florence Nightingale At Home is a remarkable achievement, and the authors are to be congratulated on so effectively locating Nightingale in the context of her time. This book is not only an invaluable source for historians of women, nursing, medicine, public health and Victorian Britain; it is also an elegant and absorbing ‘read’ for a more general audience." • Professor Lynn McDonald (Editor of the Collected Works of FN and the leading scholar worldwide), University of Guelph: "This book is not only scholarly and accurate, but has excellent visuals and is wonderfully readable. The authors use the 'home' theme to present material from the Crimean War and press coverage of it, her faith and the pioneering research she did from her own home post-Crimea." • Professor Vicky Holmes, Queen Mary University of London, UK “This highly original book is not a typical biography. It provides a fascinating insight and a renewed understanding of Florence Nightingale through her varying experiences of home. The authors effectively demonstrate how changing ideas of home continually shaped Nightingale’s attitudes and work, both in Britain and abroad.” • David Green, Former Director, Florence Nightingale Museum: “A fascinating insight into some of the most personal yet valuable areas of Nightingale’s life, this book will be a welcome addition to the library of any Nightingale enthusiast. The unique and timely focus of this book makes for a compelling read. It is book marked by passion and dedication.” • John Rivers CBE, Former Chairman University Hospitals Derby and Burton NHS Trust “A timely and vibrant study of Florence Nightingale to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of her birth. Told from the perspective of her varying experiences of 'home' and how these influenced her throughts and actions, the study offers new and refreshing insights into her legacy and its relevance in today's world.”