Smithsonian_03_2020

March 2020 | SMITHSONIAN 27

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Crimea, where

Russia had

established a

naval base at

Sevastopol,

became a fl ash

point in a geo-

political strug-

gle. “The main

and real object

of the war,” as-

serted Britain’s

Prime Minister

Lord Palmerston,

“is to curb the

aggressive am-

bition of Russia.”

overcame her parents’ objections. “Both sisters were

trapped in a gilded cage growing up,” says Bostridge,

“but only Florence broke out of it.”

For years, she divided her time between the com-

forts of rural England and rigorous training and

caregiving. She traveled widely in continental Eu-

rope, mastering her profession at the highly regard-

ed Kaiserswerth nursing school in Germany. She

served as superintendent of the Institution for the

Care of Sick Gentlewomen on Upper Harley Street

in London, a hospital for governesses. And she cared

for prostitutes during a cholera epidemic in 1853.

In 1854, British troops invaded the Russian-held

Crimean Peninsula in response to aggressive moves

Sevastapol

Balaklava

Scutari

Constantinople

Crimean

Peninsula

O

T

T O

M A

N (^) E M P I R E
RUSSIA
100 MI.
Black Sea
AREA OF
DETAIL