Well-crafted historical fiction offers readers the double pleasure of an expertly told story set in a distinct historical period—in other words, the opportunity to learn history presented in the form of good storytelling. Robin Oliveira’s debut novel, My Name is Mary Sutter, offers all of that--a determined and memorable heroine plus a storyline rich in Civil War detail.

Albany midwife Mary Sutter’s singular passion is to become a surgeon. Despite her reputation as a brilliant midwife, she is rejected by the Albany Medical School and turned down as an apprentice by local physician James Blevens, who leaves his practice to join the army instead. At the same time, Mary loses her intended husband to her twin sister. Readers are swept up in Mary’s ambitious quest as she heads to Washington, DC to interview for Dorothea Dix’s Nursing Corp. Lacking letters of recommendation and actual nursing experience, Dix refuses to enlist Mary, who in turn becomes a nurse in a Union hospital. Against all medical odds, she toils day and night in the most appalling conditions caring for wounded soldiers. Eventually she makes her way to the battlefield where her skills as a surgeon are honed and her tenacity, compassion and sense of purpose serve her well.

In Mary, Oliveira creates a remarkable character who never turns her back on her quest to become a surgeon or the soldiers she cares for. My Name is Mary Sutter will most definitely be among my top ten for 2010. ~Wendee