piyali gupta

An excellent book, rich in imagery and detail.Set in Philadelphia,this is the story of a young and compassionate lady doctor in the 19th century. Dr Lydia Weston is brilliant and remembers her father's words, 'It is all waiting to be seen,the mosaic reveals itself' while helping the police investigate the death of one of her patients.Landscapes clothed in darkness,silent alleys, gas lamps ,vivid details about autopsies, the patriarchy faced by women physicians and the expensive diary full of poetry entries by a young chambermaid hungry for education all add up to make a riveting story.