The Gilded Mirror, by Sara Donati. It's the story of two female physicians who are cousins, one white and one Black (same father, different mothers). They are originally from New Orleans and were orphaned at young ages, one at 3 and the other at 10, in New Orleans, and were taken in by older relatives who had been widowed during the Civil War. This takes place in the 1880s in Manhattan and is extremely interesting, first, because women weren't usually so independent or educated, second, because of both women's clashes with the despicable Anthony Comstock (how I love the description of him in a courtroom scene as a "puffed-up little bully"!), and third, because of the illumination of prejudices of fhe time against not only Black people but Italians and other immigrants of the time. (how little has changed!) This was a Chirstmas present from my husband, along with its sequel, Where the Light Enters
Another reason I'm finding it interesting is in its description of medical procedures. My great-aunt went to medical school at the Kentucky Medical College (now the University of Louisville Medical School) and graduated in 1905. I don't think the medical procedures had changed much from the time of the book until then. She apprenticed to a surgeon (no residency programs then!) and became one of the finest surgeons in Cincinnati and stayed up to date on all procedures, but at the time she graduated, I suspect they were pretty much the same as described in the book. They really didn't take a great leap forward until WWII, although there were some advances in WWI.
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