Jane Evans is a historical novel set in Wales, London and the Crimea. It is the fictionalised story of the real Jane Evans, the first woman on the drove and a nurse with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea. In the 1850s, a young woman runs away from her poverty-stricken life on a farm in the heart of rural Welsh-speaking Wales, to escape harsh treatment by her brothers and a forced marriage to a much older neighbour. She joins her cousin Isaac's drove, against the odds proving herself invaluable on the hard journey to London. After arriving, she eventually finds herself shipping out to the Crimea to assist in a hospital for injured soldiers. Given that the arena of the war is so small she comes into direct contact with Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole and Betsi Cadwaladr (aka Betsy Davis) in their mutual battle against inhuman conditions, and tries to bring some relief to the lost souls she finds there. Will she survive the dangers and return home to Wales, and if she does, what reception will she find there? Based on a real unsung heroine from Welsh history, this novel is full of fascinating, well-researched historical detail about the drove and about nursing in the Crimea. -- Publisher: Y Lolfa
