The first edition of this biography of Florence Nightingale (published by Constable in 1998) was hailed as a 'masterly piece of historical detective work' by medical historian James le Fanu in the Daily Telegraph and as a 'shattering blow' by Nightingale's biographer Mark Bostridge. This second edition, published in May 2013, adds more detail of Nightingale's journey from tragedy to triumph, and shows how she contributed directly to the astonishing increase in life expectancy in Victorian Britain. Today, with nursing's new emphasis on primary care and prevention outside hospitals, her pioneering public health work makes her an increasingly relevant figure.