With a Silent Companion

I found the book very interesting and informative. Ms Town has portrayed Margaret Bulkley as a very tanacious person. As each chapter commenced I eagerly read on wondering if the masquarade would be exposed. The book provides educational information as to the struggles of an ordinary person in a difficult situation. All of us can learn from her adventure. Hats off to Ms Town for an enlightening and entertaining book.

In With A Silent Companion, novelist Florida Ann Town recounts the remarkable journey of Margaret Anne Bulkley, a young woman born in nineteenth-century Ireland. Margaret's heart is broken by the constant threat of poverty, but her spirit is awakened by the challenge of two gentlemen. She enrolls in medicine at Edinburgh University and, after years of dedicated study, becomes a surgeon. Margaret's struggle and triumph is made all the more exceptional because she does it disguised as a man. With A Silent Companion is inspired by a true story uncovered by years of meticulous research into the life of Margaret Anne Bulkley (a.k.a. Dr. James Barry). This is an intriguing, fascinating, historical novel of gender, poverty, determination, and accomplishment. This is the stuff of which movies and mini-series are made. Highly recommended.