In Storm and In Calm

By: Lucilla Andrews
Grade: IDK

Setting, 1970's Shetland, Islands: For the uninitiated, such as myself, Shetland is, according to Wikipedia, a chain of Islands off the North East Coast of Scotland. The heroine of our novel, Charlotte Anthony, is a nurse on break from St. Martha's Hospital in London. A vivacious, pretty blond with a sense of adventure she is spending part of her vacation working at a hospital in Shetland while a friend, whose job it actually is, goes to be with a sister in a remote village. Said sister is determined to give birth at home in spite of having a bad history with birthing and everyone feels she would do better with a nurse midwife on the premises. On the way To Shetland our gal meets a wonderful fellow traveler named Rod, who becomes her fast friend, and notices a fellow traveler who seems pale and wan. The two speculate as to what he could possibly be doing and what has caused him to be so pale. Charlotte watches him until through a stroke of luck she is seated next to him on the plane over to the island. It is a stroke of luck for her, as he turns out to be a very understanding neighbor, not so much for him as she splatters on him while throwing up during a bumpy landing. He turns out to be Magnus, a doctor who is also spending vacation time subbing, in this case for his brother in law (also a doctor) who is going on vacation. Expecting a quiet little Island hospital Charlotte is shocked as she works long hours dealing with every kind of emergency possible as the sea and small, surrounding islands bring them patients from all walks of life whom they must deal with in storm and in calm. As she watches Magnus, Jeannie and the other nurses and islanders about her she can't help but wonder if she will give her heart to this beautiful blue and green island and it's people. Most especially the tall, Scots doctor with his soulful eyes and skillful hands whom she finds herself more and more intrigued with as the days pass.

Lucilla Andrew's book are labeled medical romances but really aren't, imo. They are more tales of being a nurse during the 1970's in Great Britain. In this particular case, the setting of the Shetland Islands is discussed in some detail and you get a sense of the wild hills and gentle valleys bracketed always by a dangerous, mysterious sea that can turn on you at any minute. The villagers about the island are seen as something of a closed community, wary of newcomers but excited about the oil just discovered around the islands. A theme throughout the book is the question of whether the fact that the oil brings new jobs and new people will be a plus that balances out the inevitable changes to a place lost in time. Mostly, though, you get a very up close look at the type of ailments and treatments that occur in a rural UK hospital. You don't at all get a feel for the romance. Magnus and Charlotte really had only moments together while working and a handful of meetings out of work to make up their relationship. Granted, the declarations of love were made without a proposal since they planned to get to know each other better before moving to marriage. Still, it felt awkward to hear them between two people who had exchanged only a handful of kisses. Additionally, there were lots of big misunderstadings between the two regarding who was seeing who and what was happening with whom. I did like the fact that Magnus was very reserved, it struck me as being very true to his character and also to the type of person he was to portray (if that makes any sense). Most surgeons I know are reserved, most men aren't as anxious as romance heroes to spout undying love, and it added to the overall "Britishness" of him. It gave a depth and perspective to his character that would actually have been lacking had he been all chatty. As a whole, the book was an interesting reading experience but one I am glad to put behind me.

Tea: Here's a tea tidbit for you. In England you put in an extra teaspoon "for the pot". That means you add a teaspoon of leaves for each cup of water and then an extra for the pot.