Eleanor Atherton is the daughter of a doctor in England in 1917. At a time when women really had no job opportunities, she pursued a career in medicine. Her entire family was against that decision, including her father. When the war broke out, she wanted to help in anyway she could, however, her parents would not allow it.

After being sent to France to bring a friend who was injured back home, Eleanor finds herself in a hospital where she is able to care for wounded veterans, even though all of the staff members do not want a woman around. She also ends up with an opportunity to work on the front lines of the war.

I believe this is the first WWI historical fiction book I’ve read, but it surely won’t be my last. I was so immersed in this time and place, that I did not feel the length of this book - 450 pages! The author’s note at the end made me appreciate the story even more. Her grandfather told her about his brother who had died in WWI, which led her on a journey to find his grave and learn more about this period in history.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Despite no encouragement from her family especially her doctor father Eleanor Atherton is determined. She graduates medical school in 1917 at the top of her class. Her parents expect her to do what is expected of women of the day, marry a well to do man, make him happy and have children.
We see that Eleanor is not a conventional woman and she will do what she believes in.
She dreams of going overseas to help the wounded but is met with opposition from every side.
She is a well qualified doctor but despite this men don't want a woman doctor and some would rather die than have her as their doctor.
When she gets sent to the battlefields of France as a private doctor of a British peer she knows it is now time to prove herself in a male dominated field.
This book gets right into the thick of things during the war, the surgery, the front lines of the battle, the fear the soldiers have .
I didn't realize the importance stretcher bearers had during ww1. These men have to be young,strong and have medical knowledge. They must go onto the battle field after a man has been wounded, risking potential death to carry the men through mud,muck,rain and making sure they don't fall off the stretcher all while the men are moaning and screaming in pain to get them to the doctor for surgery.
Despite being the darkest of times Eleanor finds her heart opening to love.

Pub Date 28 Sep 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Ask anyone who was there and they’ll tell you Dr Eleanor Atherton is one heck of a good doctor. But hindsight’s 20/20, right? Ask Dr Eleanor Atherton what it took to get to the battlefields of France in 1918, and she’ll likely tell you it took every ounce of determination, courage, and will to step off the train in Calais and into the world of WWI. And those are precisely the words her peers would later use to describe her and her actions during the months she spent on the front. Despite her parent’s wishes, despite the odds stacked against her, Eleanor was going to practice medicine and prove to everyone, most importantly herself, that she was called to be a doctor.

I loved this book, but I have a fondness for all things WWI and WWII, which is likely why I gravitate to historical fiction. I’m the nerdy chick who watches all the old war documentaries with ancient footage on PBS. This book was like stepping into one of those films but better! I loved the main character; her stubbornness and determination in the face of what seemed like insurmountable obstacles is exactly what I want in a strong female lead. And my own background in medical care made this even more fascinating. Though I’m not a nurse or a doctor, I know what it’s like to be called to care for the others, to run toward rather than away from the sick and injured. The characters arcs the author wove together gave depth and feeling to the book. And the ending was exactly what I wanted it to be! If you enjoy war-time fiction, strong female leads, and Scottish men named Fraser then this should be a must read!

Despite being a fully qualified doctor Eleanor Atherton is unable to find any military organization willing to offer her a position treating the wounded. Her parents didn't support her decision to become a doctor either and they'll are horrified when she accepts an assignment from a neighbor to bring her wounded son home from a hospital in France.

A very naive Eleanor travels to the continent and is befriended by a stretcher bearer who helps her travel to the casualty clearing station. She finds her patient unable to travel and is resented by the hospital staff until she finally is able to prove her worth in an emergency and becomes a battlefield hero.

This is a romance as well as a historical novel and it doesn't fully succeed as either. Too many plot twists depend heavily on coincidence, and Eleanor's strained relations with her family are hard to believe.

I associate Lecia Cornwall’s name with historical romances, although I confess I haven’t read any of her work in that genre.  The blurb for her latest book, The Woman at the Front, caught my eye because of its First World War setting; I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Northern France (pre-Covid) researching family history so it’s a period I’m particularly interested in - and the premise of a young female doctor wanting to make a useful contribution to the war effort but being thwarted at every turn promised an interesting read.

Eleanor Atherton, the daughter of a Yorkshire doctor, has always longed to follow in her father’s footsteps.  In 1917, she graduated from medical school in Edinburgh near the top of her class (and thus ahead of almost 130 of her male colleagues) and has been looking forward to using her hard-earned skills in a meaningful way – but she’s derided and looked down upon for her choices at every turn.  Even her father doesn’t support her ambitions and has relegated her to menial tasks, such as doing paperwork or cleaning his surgery, while her mother constantly bemoans the fact that Eleanor will never be able to find a husband because no man wants a wife with an advanced education who refuses to stick to her ‘proper’ place in the order of things.

But Eleanor - who worked harder than anyone else so she’d be taken seriously, who put up with the constant bullying of the male students - refuses to be diverted from her chosen path.  When we meet her, it’s January of 1918 and she’s in a meeting with Sir William Foxleigh at the War Office, asking to be allowed to offer her services to the army hospitals in France.   Unfortunately, Sir William’s response is just the same as she’s received from just about every other man when informed she’s a doctor – distaste, disbelief and an instruction to “go home, sit down, and take up something more useful, such as knitting.”  With the war raging into its fourth year, she knows doctors are desperately needed and tries to make her case, but Foxleigh dismisses her and suggests that she should instead find a position at one of the hospitals in England that care for women and children – or if she’s set on going to France, that she should become a nurse or a member of the VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) as those are “much more ladylike pursuits.” Furious and frustrated, Eleanor responds:

“I am not a nurse, Sir William, or a volunteer.  I am a doctor.”

Back at home a couple of weeks later, however, an unexpected opportunity presents itself when the Countess of Kirkswell informs Eleanor that her son Louis – a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps and now the heir to the earldom following his older brother’s recent death – has been injured and is currently being treated at a Casualty Clearing Station near Arras – and then asks Eleanor to travel to France to act as Louis’ doctor and to bring him home.

Even though she knows her parents will disapprove, Eleanor jumps at the chance to do something useful, and is soon on her way to France.  Even amidst the destruction and carnage all around, and the obvious need for people with her skills and medical training, she is still viewed with disdain and suspicion by most of the medical staff – even the nurses – and instructed that she is to attend no patients other than Louis on threat of being sent back to England.  Eleanor tries to stick to this rule, but it’s hard for her to just stand by when there are people who need the help she can give – and with ever increasing numbers of wounded flooding into the CCS, it’s not long before she decides that some rules need to be broken and grabs the opportunity to finally prove herself, in spite of the inflexibility of the commanding officer and the matron.  And she does it in spectacular fashion, working as quickly, skilfully and indefatigably as any of the other doctors.

The author does an absolutely incredible job with the setting in this book.  The sights and smells, the mud, the despair, the exhaustion, the everyday heroics of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances (the bravery of the stretcher-bearers who have to venture onto the battlefields in order to retrieve the wounded while still under fire, for instance), the knowledge that no matter how many men are treated, there will be more tomorrow and the next day and the next… it’s all superbly captured and conveyed on the page and I was thoroughly immersed in the time and place.

The book is less successful as a romance, however.  Ms. Cornwall sets up a number of potential love interests for Eleanor – Louis Chastaine (the countess’ son), Scottish stretcher-bearer Fraser MacLeod and doctor, David Blair – but although it’s fairly obvious who she’s going to end up with, the romance is pretty insta-love-y.  I get that the circumstances (“there’s a war on”) don’t allow for a lot of on-page togetherness (and it makes perfect sense that way),  so while  The Woman at the Front does include a romance and an HEA, those are very much secondary to Eleanor’s struggle to make her way in the hostile, male-dominated environment of medicine in a world being torn apart by war, so I’d class the book as historical fiction with romantic elements, rather than as an historical romance.

On the negative side, the pacing is uneven and the story drags in places, and I found it hard to believe in the intense dislike displayed towards Eleanor by her family.  It turns out that her father only allowed her to go to medical school as a way of shaming her twin brother Edward, who had no interest in medicine.  Atherton expected Eleanor to fail and that failure would teach her some humility – and when she didn’t, he thought her medical training would mean she’d make a suitable doctor’s wife.  As for her brother, well he’s a self-centred prick, but I still didn’t see why he so disliked her.

And finally, a word of warning. The way Eleanor is treated by so many around her, the prejudice she encounters, the way she’s dismissed, belittled, talked-down-to - even by other women – is rage-inducing.  I have no doubt the attitudes presented are realistic, but I had to actually put the book down a time or two in order to calm down!

Despite that, however – and if you’re okay with the romance taking a back seat on occasion - The Woman at the Front is a fascinating read and one I’m recommending to anyone looking for a story featuring an engaging protagonist and a well-researched, well-realised setting.

Buy it at Amazon, Audible or your local independent retailer

Visit our Amazon Storefront

I enjoyed this book! With SO much historical fiction out there set during the Second World War, it was lovely to discover this title set during the First World War. Having studied this period extensively, I can tell you that the author did her research. Very well written and excellent character development. I hope we will see more historical
fiction from this author.

Historical fiction is my favorite genre. I was very excited to see this book focused on WWI instead of WWII, there are so many. The fact that this book involved a heroic female doctor, one of Britain’s first and that she was not really permitted to serve in the war piqued my interest.

I thought the WWI part of this story was quite well done and especially well researched, I loved reading about Eleanor, the MCs, work and her experiences at the front. The injuries and tragedies but also the procedures performed, the lack of supplies it all felt real and very well written but and it’s a big but for a shy and proper character like Eleanor it seemed quite odd after studying in Edinburgh by herself without a single love interest, flirtation or kiss because she is so determined to make it as a doctor to suddenly have three men (maybe more) fall in love with her and have heart palpitations all the time - it just didn’t fit the character well.
That being said I enjoyed the historical detail and looking up the background on the historical facts. The book was well researched !

In 1917, Eleanor Atherton is proud of graduating from medical school despite every obstacle (including her own family) that got in her way. Now she wants to go help the war effort. World War I is raging, and Eleanor wants to use her medical skills to help wounded soldiers, but women aren't allowed to be doctors at the front. A position as a private doctor to a wounded man gives Eleanor her chance. She's soon at the front in France, and learns what a horror war can be....

This is such a compelling story. Eleanor is a strong, courageous main character. I can only imagine how horrible it was to be at the front during WW I. This story brought some of the danger, violence and courage to life so that I could understand better what it would have been like to be there.

I got sucked into this story immediately and enjoyed it! I thought at times that the horrible behavior of her family was a bit melodramatic, but I think that might be due to the fact it made me mad! And at times the plot was a bit more romantic than I would have liked. But all in all....I enjoyed the story.

This is the first book by Lecia Cornwall that I've read. Her other books are mostly romance novels so I won't be reading those, but if she pens another story like this, I will definitely read it!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Dr. Eleanor Atherton is a single female doctor at a time where women weren't seen in any professional capacity. A twin where her father had expectations for her brother and has shunned her due solely based on her gender. Through all sorts of chance encounters she heads to the front line of the war to bring a soldier home to his mother and of course, nothing goes to plan as it rarely does!

The characters in this book, specifically Dr. Eleanor Atherton kept me turning pages. I loved how she was written. She was a woman at a time where women had no authority over their own futures and there was low expectations for them to do much more than marry and raise a family. The way the author wrote her determination to not be defined as a woman, but be defined as the thing she can do was inspiring - it made me want to be the first at something!

For me the thing that kept me from falling in love with this book was the pacing. From beginning to end, I felt as though this book was just moving at such a slow pace. I think because of this, I spiraled and kept getting distracted and it took me much longer to read this book then I typically read. Like I said earlier, I liked the characters and was invested enough to continue to the end, but I just wish the story would have moved a little better.

Fascinating solid read! ________4.5

Compelling story about a young woman’s fight to be recognized as a doctor during WW1 by her family, her community and the War Office. It’s 1918, the allies are being hammered on the Western Front. All Eleanor Atherton wants to do is follow her calling. She’s hampered by the times. Women doctors are given no respect. They “weren’t wanted by the military, the War Office, or even the Red Cross, no matter how competent or willing they might be.” They are seen by many as betraying feminine standards in general, and as the weaker sex. Rather than be exposed to the brutalities of the war and life in the trenches, they should have their sensibilities protected. They should undertake “more ladylike pursuits.” I loved it when Eleanor told an undersecretary in the War Office that she didn’t knit, she embroidered to ensure her suturing would be perfect.
Then a series of circumstances has Eleanor agreeing to journey to France for the local landowner, the Countess of Kirkwall, to the Casualty Clearing Station at Sainte-Croix. She’s been tasked to bring home her twin brother’s childhood friend, Louis Chastaine, Viscount Somerton, who’s recently inherited the family title. Louis was the younger son and this is not what he wants. Louis is a talented pilot who just wants to keep doing what he loves the most. Enroute to Arras, at Calais, Eleanor is befriended by a stretcher bearer, Sergeant Fraser MacLeod, a man whose ready acceptance of her as a doctor gives her strength.
A series of mishaps and the surge of injured at the Front has Eleanor tending to casualties, despite the rigidity of the commanding officer and the matron. The wounded and dying only cared that she was a doctor.
Talk about an innocent abroad! There were moments at Calais when she was in real trouble. The scenes at the front are horrific. Eleanor demonstrates she has the stomach and the determination to use her talents, and to answer her calling, legal or not. The truly harrowing experiences described really do expose the human cost of war.
Eleanor finally accepts her fractured familial relationships, which is an underlying sorrow. Her relationship with her twin I found troubling.
Cornwell’s author’s notes give more clarity about the roles and regulations of personnel at this time, and the fighting conditions on the Front for Allied forces. Places mentioned like Vimy Ridge resound for many.
The romantic aspects round Eleanor’s character out, although the coincidences did sort of annoy me, as did Eleanor’s behavior with her family.
Despite this I found myself absorbed in both Eleanor’s struggles with mores of the time and with the conditions on the Front.

A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Eleanor Atherton is a hero. She gets accepted into medical school and then graduates near the top of her class. WWI is going on and she wants nothing more than to do her part as a doctor. I found her persistence amazing. She had everything working against her, but she still found a way to make a difference, to follow her heart, and to become the doctor she dreamed of becoming.

Lecia Cornwall wrote a book that I could not stop reading. I was so intrigued by the characters but also by the storyline. The horrors of war, the way Eleanor had to travel to get to where she had to be, and the people she dealt with kept me turning pages and hoping that all would be okay. I was hopeful that Eleanor Atherton would find people who would support her, who would guide her, and who would get her to where she needed to be.

The Woman at the Front is a strong, powerful story of a woman challenges the parameters of her time and her family. She pushes the boundaries, she challenges those who question her, and she is amazing.

Thanks to Berkley for an advanced copy of The Woman at the Front by Lecia Cornwall.

World War I Historical Fiction is becoming my favorite as it is really such a fascinating time period, especially for women and the different class/societal changes that came out of the war and this book is a great example of a woman who risks everything to be a doctor on the front lines in France.

Eleanor Atherton just graduated from medical school at the top of her class in 1917 and wants to serve as a doctor on the front lines in France, but women can't be doctors on the front lines. Her parents want her to give up medicine and marry a doctor... When she gets the chance to go to France to serve as the private doctor for her neighbor and British peer when she takes an opportunity to prove herself at a casualty clearing station to prove that she is a skilled doctor and that she can handle the gruesome injuries of the war.

I loved the author's note on her inspiration for the story from her grandfather and his brother in WWI and when she got the opportunity years later to visit her great uncle's grave. I like that she chose to put the main character as a doctor instead of a nurse and used the stories of the women who created their own hospitals so they could be doctors when they were told no. The research and work put into this book were the best.

At times the book was a little long and I wished there was a little less romance in the story, but if you're a historical fiction fan then I recommend The Woman At the Front.

I have always enjoyed historical fiction. Because of this I have read lots of novels about WWII but not as much about WW1. The fact that this involved a heroic female doctor and that she was not really permitted to serve in the war peaked my interest!!

Eleanor and Edward Atherton are twins, living in London in 1918. Their father is a physician and it was always thought that Edward would also become a doctor and eventually take over his father’s practice.

Edward however always wanted to be part of high society and sought out friends in high places. He was more concerned about parties, women, drinking and having fun!!

In the end it is Eleanor who goes to medical school, is 7th in her graduating class and wants more than anything to practice medicine. Her parents only want her to marry well, settle down and have a family, not what she wants at all!!

In this fourth year of the war there is a desperate need for doctors, nevertheless since she is a woman she is turned away.

A Countess hears that Eleanor, a local woman, wants to become a practicing doctor. She offers to help her get started in medicine in London if only she will go to France and bring home her wounded son. He is next in line for the family title and she has already lost one son.

There is a lot of time spent on how men on the trains going to France and all of the men at the field hospital feel about her. I thought a little too much time was spent on this and it made the story drag for me.

There are several love interests and had I known that this author wrote mostly historical romance novels I would have been more prepared for it. I found the love interests to be distracting from the tragedies surrounding these troops.

When things go awry and Eleanor is the only one left to help, she finally gets her chance. She does her job bravely and with great skill. When a male doctor is finally returned to the front ranks Eleanor is expected to return to England.

I don’t want to give away the ending or any more of the story. I will leave that for the reader to discover.

I prefer my historical fiction to be a bit more gritty and with less romance. The book is well researched and some characters are derived from the author’s reading of other books about French doctors and nurses who set up their own aid posts during the war. “Several other scenes are also loosely based on actual accounts” per the author.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley

A glorious look at an indomitable woman at the precarious balance of duty and ambition, The Woman at The Front spotlights Eleanor Atherton who is a victim of the structure of her time period: both as a woman of social expectation and a courageous female doctor. Luscious, harrowing and romantic, Cornwall's meticulous research is met with spirited, urgent prose. All my favourite catnip is here: romance, immersive history and a feminist exploration of a woman ahead of her time --- forging ahead in a man's world while the world's barriers and traditions fall around her.

The Woman at the Front is a historical fiction featuring a stubborn, smart, female doctor. Eleanor Atherton is a doctor in a time where women were only expected – nay, allowed – to bear children (and a few other “duties” depending on their station in life). I cannot imagine what she had to endure to get through medical school, especially without the support of her family. And the exhilaration at graduating, only to find out there’s nowhere to take her skills.

As luck would have it (if you can call a world war “luck”) Eleanor takes a chance on an opportunity to use her skills, even if it’s on babysitting duty. Sent to France, she has to endure more jeers and disbelief that a woman would dare become a doctor – never mind doing it in a war zone.

"Nevertheless she persisted"

But Eleanor has a calling to save lives, and she steps up when she’s needed – repercussions be damned.

I really enjoyed The Woman at the Front for how strong Eleanor is in the face of all the adversity she faces. I’m in awe of her courage, and I’m so sad that even today women face similar looks of disbelief if we choose to “wander” into “men’s” careers. You’d think we’d have come further than that in the last century.

In the meantime, we can only choose to persist – and support those who continue to push the boundaries of what’s “allowed” based on gender.

drey’s rating: Excellent!

Harlequin Junkie Top Pick!

Throughout, Cornwall successfully captures the early 19th Century limitations that gender roles equally placed on men and women. And whilst it appeared one gender largely benefited, the reality is, in times of war, no one comes out a winner, given men, nay boys, were expected to throw their lives down the gauntlet of senselessness in the name of honour using the very idea of protector to somehow spur them on and justify their self-sacrifice. The conflict and therefore tension between what was practicable and what was social construct was managed effectively, particularly given Eleanors skills as a doctor and surgeon were in dire need, and as she quickly discovers, simply being in the causality clearing station 20kms shy of the battle meant all hands on deck.

For the most part, themes of gender were clear and poignant given nothing made sense, least of all saying no to someone who could actually help. And whilst the very notion that someone would be left to die rather than be treated by a woman was absurd, Cornwall managed the historical reality effectively.

As a poignant and socially relevant historical romance, this has backbone in spades. And whilst El was largely flawless, she walked a heroic line that shaped the pathway for young girls and women to dream their own dreams and throw social convention to the wind where it belongs. Overall, this is simultaneously a horrific and beautiful read that will sit weightily in any soul, as it covers the spectrum of life, love, and death in one beautifully honest beat. I highly recommend and Lest We Forget.

The Woman at the Front by Lecia Cornwall

There is so much I like about The Woman at the Front. It never occurred to me the sacrifices and heroics of the stretcher bearers during WWI. These men had to be strong, courageous, and willing to risk their lives to go right into the heat of battle and carry back wounded, dying, or dead men, often times carrying their heavy loads for hours, through mud, muck, and gore. They needed to have at least some basic medical skills to help the wounded have a chance of getting to doctors. Then they had to go back out there again to try to save more soldiers. I really enjoyed seeing the war through the eyes of Fraser, a stretcher bearer.

It's 1917 and Eleanor Atherton has graduated from medical school, despite opposition from her family and everyone else she encounters. She wants to go to the front and help the wounded soldiers and gets her chance when a wounded British peer needs to be brought back home. Soon, Eleanor is in the thick of things, fighting the prejudices of everyone, once again. It's not just the men who don't want her "doctoring" but the woman look down on her too, for not sticking to the expected roles of the women of that day.

The story seems a bit too extreme in certain areas. Eleanor's family despises her to a degree that is hard to understand. It's as if they never liked her, from the time she was born. On the other extreme, certain characters seem to fall into insta-love with her, to the extent that they will never ever get over it. I think the story appealed me the most, when it was showing all the horrors of war, when Eleanor would just get down to the business at hand, without all the focus on her being a doctor. I enjoyed the perspectives of the other characters more than Eleanor's perspective, which felt too romance-y for the time and place.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a beautiful, well written, and well researched book. I admire Eleanor and women like her who defied the odds during WWI to practice medicine, despite the misogynistic views of so many during this time period. The relationships were well developed and I felt entirely invested in the character and their plight.

Some parts felt a little long winded to me, but I still throughly enjoyed this one and recommend it to lovers of historical fiction.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great, different type of a World War I story. Loved the romance woven in with a woman trying to prove herself and winning everyone over with her skills! Beautifully written and deeply engaging!