My Name Is Mary Sutter: A Novel

Robin Oliveira

May 2010 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Kimberly Farr

About this audiobook

In this stunning historical novel, Mary Sutter is a brilliant, headstrongmidwife from Albany, New York, who dreams of becominga surgeon. Determined to overcome the prejudices against womenin medicine—and eager to run away from her recent heartbreak—Mary leaves home and travels to Washington, D.C. to help tendthe legions of Civil War wounded. Under the guidance of WilliamStipp and James Blevens—two surgeons who fall unwittingly inlove with Mary’s courage, will, and stubbornness in the face ofsuffering—and resisting her mother’s pleas to return home to helpwith the birth of her twin sister’s baby, Mary pursues her medicalcareer in the desperately overwhelmed hospitals of the capital.Like Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain and Robert Hicks’s TheWidow of the South, My Name Is Mary Sutter powerfully evokesthe atmosphere of the period. Rich with historical detail (includingmarvelous depictions of Lincoln, Dorothea Dix, GeneralMcClellan, and John Hay among others), and full of the tragediesand challenges of wartime, My Name Is Mary Sutter is an exceptionalnovel. And in Mary herself, Robin Oliveira has created atruly unforgettable heroine whose unwavering determination andvulnerability will resonate with readers everywhere.

Ratings and reviews

this was a good book

About the author

Robin Oliveira is the New York Times bestselling author of My Name Is Mary Sutter and I Always Loved You. She holds a BA in Russian and studied at the Pushkin Language Institute in Moscow. She received an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is also a registered nurse, specializing in critical care. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

Kimberly Farr has appeared on Broadway, at the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Roundabout Theatre, Playwright's Horizons, and the American Place. She created the role of Eve in Arthur Miller's first and only musical, Up from Paradise, which was directed by the author. She appeared with Vanessa Redgrave in the Broadway production of The Lady from the Sea. She has also acted in regional theaters from Los Angeles to New Haven, Connecticut, including the original production of The 1940's Radio Hour at Washington, DC's Arena Stage.