The Crimea and Florence Nightingale

The Crimean War and ‘The Lady with the Lamp’

In March 1854 Britain and France declared war on Russia. By its end in early 1856 the Crimean conflict had cost over half a million lives, including 20,000 British casualties, and heralded a new form of warfare, one with steamships, entrenchments, railways and war correspondents. It also created a new national heroine – Florence Nightingale.

Paul Whittle examines this now largely forgotten war and shows how it made, or destroyed, so many reputations. Also covered are the subsequent life and achievements of Miss Nightingale and how the Black Sea war sites look today, including the former top secret Soviet submarine base at Balaclava.