In THE DOCTORS BLACKWELL, award-winning author Janice P. Nimura shines new light on the life and accomplishments of Elizabeth Blackwell, America’s first female physician, and equally on the achievements of her dynamic younger sister and fellow doctor, Emily.

In 1857, Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell opened the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, hallmarking the first such institution in the US to be run solely by women. It was their dream made real, the opening of new doors after years of ambitious, determined pushing into multiple closed systems.

"Nimura brings [Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell's] aspirations to life in a zestful chronicle that should be read and shared in discussion by modern women, lest we forget."

As Nimura explains, the sisters --- daughters of nonconforming parents who left England for the new possibilities available in America --- were brilliant and multiskilled, forced to find work when their father passed away. Both had some success as tutors, with Elizabeth driven by the belief that she should and would not be defined by her sex. For her, the field of medicine represented an alluring opportunity to assert her absolute equality with men. After being rejected by many schools, she finally found her place, excelled academically, repressed her horror at some of the duties of the profession, studied with men who both mocked and praised her, and ultimately gained her title of MD, the first American woman to do so. Emily followed Elizabeth’s lead, but from a different perspective, demonstrating more empathy for the sick and suffering, though as intelligent and broad-minded as her sister.

Together the two doctors opened and managed the infirmary and assisted in establishing women’s medical colleges in the US and the UK.

Nimura previously demonstrated her facility with historical research and her ability to bring the past to life in DAUGHTERS OF THE SAMURAI. In writing about the Blackwells, two dynamic but very different women, she has delved into their era’s medical practices, which seem distressingly primitive at this remove. Social mores are also examined, including issues beginning to arise at the time concerning birth control and abortion. Neither Elizabeth nor Emily, strong independent women, ever married, though Elizabeth adopted a “half sister, half daughter,” and Emily had a live-in partner. Both sisters had a vision for a better world where women could give and receive the best care and garner deserved recognition.

Nimura brings their aspirations to life in a zestful chronicle that should be read and shared in discussion by modern women, lest we forget.