The Sharp Edge of Mercy follows 18-year old Lilian Dolan who is estranged from her mother and dreams of becoming a nurse in New York City. The novel is a fictionalized account of actual events that occurred at the New York Cancer Hospital and examines social mores and ethical issues during the late 19th-century, many of which are still prevalent today. The characters grapple with being true to themselves while following safe paths that will affect the course of their lives. As Lilian cares for her deaf sister and carries out her duties as an assistant nurse, she struggles to maintain a professional distance from both the cancer patients and the esteemed doctor who has set his eyes on her. Mayo does not shy away from describing the inner workings of the hospital and gives us a courageous protagonist who is ahead of her times.

Thrilling, stunning and compelling!
What a great read, a story that combines a bit of mystery, racism, heatlhcare, love and class. I was captivated with it, a fantastic and powerful historical fiction story. Impossible to put down.

THE SHARP EDGE OF MERCY
By Connie Hertberg Mayo
Historical Fiction

Set in 1890 Lillian gets a job as a nurses assistant with the goal of getting into a nursing college with a good recommendation from the head of the hospital she is working at. Her dreams are flagging when she finds out something else is going on behind the scenes at the hospital.

There are a lot of tough topics in that are dealt with in this book that would have been really taboo for that era. I found this interesting as well as all of the changes that have happened between now and 1890 in the medical field. This is definitely a 5 star book for me. I would recommend it for anyone wanting to broaden their knowledge about History and also for anyone that would like to know just how far we have advanced in medicine.

Love ❤,
Noor.
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#booktour #netgalley

THE SHARP EDGE OF MERCY
by
Connie Hertzberg Mayo.

Release date: 06/05/2022
Genre: #historicalfiction #medicalfiction
356 pgs
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#qotd Have you noticed a fixed/ stoic demeanor depicted by docs/ nurses?
Have you ever wondered what would happen if the medical staff in a hospital would get emotionally attached to a patient/s?
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"Mayo's novel not only offers a close look at health care at the turn of the 20th century, but also addresses the racial, class, and sexual tensions that existed alongside strict, bigoted Victorian-era standards of morality.
Mayo brings her characters and settings to life with deft prose and careful research. Her descriptions of the crowded streets of New York are visceral and authentic...A compelling and diverse historical novel."- #kirkusreviews
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I am not a huge fan of #historical novels but there is something about the era, the language, the ways which draws me to it.

Also the fact that it is an amalgamation of facts & fiction weaved around it, makes me read the last page asap.

I could relate to Lillian's struggle..her earlier jealousy & now love for her Lil sis.. her elder bro like cous.. the concept of gay men in that era.. Lillian's zeal to achieve something in life, be a nurse & her inhibitions.. her curiosity.. her humane attitude towards her patients.

Her attitude towarda her mother Helen, did make me think twice..

Her problems at the hospital.. amongst her colleagues.. with her seniors/ doc.. her rapport with people below in hierarchy/ Jupiter..made me root for her till the very end.

The atmospheric setting of the bygone era & the feel of working in that hospital, did give me goosebumps.
I also love the #bookclub questions in the end, they are excellent for #buddyread too.

Definately recommend for a seasoned reader of this genre or for anyone who loves reading anything about medicine or related field.
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Blurb:
New York City, 1890: Lillian Dolan is optimistic about her new job at the New York Cancer Hospital after dreaming for years of becoming a nurse. But she struggles to fit in, and her only friend at the hospital is Jupiter, a Black man who runs the crematorium. When the confident Dr. Bauer arrives as the new surgeon and takes a shine to Lillian, she is thrilled to be noticed. Lillian has been warned not to get too close to the patients, but Mrs. Sokolova draws her in, and Lillian wins praise from the nurses for making progress with a difficult patient. But when Mrs. Sokolova’s situation becomes dire, she puts Lillian in an impossible situation-—all while Lillian slowly loses control of her relationship with Dr. Bauer. Her decision to help her patient throws her life into chaos, and Jupiter may be the only person who can help her with an impossible choice: capitulate to Dr. Bauer’s demands or face possible arrest.

I’m always fascinated by stories set in historic New York City and I was in this one set there in 1890. This is the second novel I’ve recently read focusing on the immoral and illegal medical abuse of women. Unauthorized surgeries and treatments, even horrifically performing surgery without anesthesia on black women for the sake of “research”, is part of the history of the New York Cancer Hospital. I was shocked to discover that it becomes the now renown Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. This is a multifaceted story, though, covering not just the medical abuse, but also racism, homophobia.

The story is depicted through a fictional character, Lillian Dolan, an eighteen year old aspiring nurse, who takes on a position as nurse assistant to support herself and her younger disabled sister. Lillian is naive and doesn’t make the best decisions at times for herself or for Marie, but her character development is notable as she struggles to find her way.

We are not made aware until close to the end of the book why Lillian takes her sister away from their mother. I didn’t quite get why the author chose to withhold this, but I have to admit I found it quite disturbing and it wasn’t what I was expecting. Overall, a good piece of historical fiction as I found myself there in 1890 New York just as I did in the author’s first novel, [book:The Island of Worthy Boys|25396043] where I found myself in historical Boston.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Heliotrope Books through NetGalley.

A young, determined, inquisitive woman (Lillian) finds work as a nursing assistant at NYC’s famed Cancer Hospital. It’s 1890 and medical ethics are not what we expect. Well-researched with a diverse array of well-written characters! One of my favorite reads this month - highly recommended! Expected release date: 3 May 2022.

Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC - I was under no pressure to provide a review

A historical fiction novel based on the real New York Cancer Hospital. Set in the late 1800s, young Lillian Dolan longs to be a nurse, but at the time women had to be a certain age to go to nursing school as well as live on the premises. Lillian wasn’t of age and she had her younger sister to care for as well, but she was able to get a job at the hospital as a nursing assistant. She was desperate for a job, but also for the chance to absorb any knowledge she could about nursing.

Lillian is very naive when it comes to the ways of the world and how cruel and unfair it can be, but she is also brave and very clever. Lillian lives in a world where cancer is thought to be contagious, gay people were shunned, and friendships between black and white people were abhorred.

The mistreatment of patients used for medical research is chilling. Patients beg Lillian to end their misery with more whiskey than their one alloyed cup or something stronger. Lillian must balance on the sharp edge of mercy.

Mayo does an amazing job of tacking a wide range of issues through engaging characters and an intriguing storyline.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a free widget from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

It’s New York at the turn of the twentieth century, and Lilian Dolan is living in a small apartment with just her younger sister, Marie—left blind and mentally limited after a bout of scarlatina. To support them both, Lilian talks her way into a job as a nursing assistant at the New York Cancer Hospital. She wants to become a nurse, so this seems like a good opportunity for her, and she has support from her cousin Michael, if not from her mother, because of an unspecified conflict that becomes clear only toward the end of the novel. But many of the hospital nurses shun her, and although Lilian establishes a rapport with several of the patients, her yearning to find out more about medicine brings her into contact with a new head surgeon who clearly has more insidious intentions toward her than Lilian herself is prepared to face.

In addition to the details of medical care at the time, this novel manages to incorporate an astonishingly vast swath of New York city life: the gay scene in its various manifestations, race relations, sexual harassment, and the right to euthanasia all play a part without ever overwhelming the story. At its heart is Lilian—brave, alert, intelligent, naïve, and loving. Following her pursuit of happiness and self-worth is a journey well worth taking.

I’ll be hosting a written Q&A on my blog in a few weeks (link below).

Her experiences in a New York cancer hospital challenges the inquisitive, young Lillian Dolan to reconsider societal values and medical practices in The Sharp Edge of Mercy. Lillian hoped to become a nurse, but with a younger, disabled sibling to care for, she can’t afford nursing school. Instead, she takes a job at the bottom rolling bandages and hopes to work her way up. As her duties increase and she spends more time with the patients in the woman’s cancer ward, she becomes emotionally involved, and strives to understand the doctor’s treatment decisions. The head doctor notes her questions and invites her to weekly private meetings in his home. Lillian understands the danger, but she also knows she can use his attention to further her understanding.

Lillian’s cousin Michael has been her closest friend since childhood. He connects her with a woman to care for her sister. And, she accidently meets a young black man working at the hospital crematorium. These three people become her friends, each expanding her understanding of the greater world, taking her into the Bowery’s gay culture and the black experience.

Set in a time when cancer was thought to be contagious, heterosexuals were shunned, and friendship between white and black was anathema, Lillian is both socially naïve and inherently brave.

The history of mistreatment of black and female patients used for medical research is chilling. Patients implore Lillian to end their misery with more whiskey, or something stronger and more permanent, and increasingly Lillian must weigh the balance between what is right and what is merciful.

Mayo tackles a wide range of issues through her engaging characters and an intriguing story line.

The author was inspired by the history of the New York Cancer Hospital and the ‘Father of Modern Gynecology.’

I received a free egalley through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

This was a wonderful book. It spoke of race and class in a realistic way for the time and I learned new things about this time period. I felt main character was engaging and real and it had a good plot. Very good book!