Apparently Donoghue began her novel in 2018 inspired by the 100th anniversary of the 1918 flu epidemic. She had no idea how prescient her story would be.
Julie Power, a nurse midwife, celebrates her 30th birthday in the maternity/fever ward of a Dublin hospital. Over the length of three days readers experience many "Call the Midwife" moments compounded by the effects of the 1918 flu. Readers will also recognize the delusional, lack of scientific understanding of the cause and how to treat the deadly disease - should be different today but - hmmmm. Also working on the ward is Bridie Sweeney, the voice of the horrible poverty and religious restrictions of 1918 Ireland, and Dr. Kathleen Lynn, who is based on an actual figure in the Irish Resistance. The writing lacks poetry but there is lot's of history, so many similarities and one life profoundly changed.
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