I was made aware of Mary Borden through a profile in 'Gentleman's Life', a Country Life supplement (of all places) - and this is a searing, often lyrical account of her experiences running field hospitals (which she also financed) near the frontline the first World War- an activity she reprised in WWII. She has great empathy and respect for the French 'poilus', often most frightfully wounded and dying. Her prose is powerful indeed, yet equally remarkable to me is the life she led - her accomplishments and grit in appalling circumstances. An outstanding person, far too little known. ( )

Mary Borden was an American woman (and heiress) from Chicago, married to a Briton and living in England, who volunteered to serve as a nurse in French hospitals on the Western Front.

This collection of "narratives" is a mixed bag. Some of the selections are full of "purple prose," overwritten, and reflecting a prose style which more austere authors of the 20th century discredited. Many 21st century readers will find these narratives unimpressive.

Other narratives - especially those in the "Somme" section of the book - are among the finest WWI writing I've read anywhere. I have been looking to find crisp, articulate, committed writing from medical personnel on the Western Front in WWI, and I've found it in "narratives" like "Moonlight" and "In the Operating Room" here in Borden's "Forbidden Zone." ( )

Lovely writing about a terrible subject. ( )