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A Mystery
by Ritu Mukerji
Book Reviewed by:For fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Todd, Murder by Degrees is a historical mystery set in 19th century Philadelphia, following a pioneering woman doctor as she investigates the disappearance of a young patient who is presumed dead.
Philadelphia, 1875: It is the start of term at Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lydia Weston, professor and anatomist, is immersed in teaching her students in the lecture hall and hospital. When the body of a patient, Anna Ward, is dredged out of the Schuylkill River, the young chambermaid's death is deemed a suicide. But Lydia is suspicious and she is soon brought into the police investigation.
Aided by a diary filled with cryptic passages of poetry, Lydia discovers more about the young woman she thought she knew. Through her skill at the autopsy table and her clinical acumen, Lydia draws nearer the truth. Soon a terrible secret, long hidden, will be revealed. But Lydia must act quickly, before she becomes the next target of those who wished to silence Anna.
Two major threads run parallel through the entirety of Murder by Degrees: Lydia's day-to-day experiences as a woman doctor, as she is forced to continuously demonstrate her worth regardless of her clear qualifications and skill; and the mystery surrounding Anna's death. It would be easy for one to steal focus and the other to feel like an afterthought, but author Ritu Mukerji pays equal attention to each. As a result, both are developed and intriguing enough to stand on their own, but woven together, they form an even more captivating narrative that paints a vivid picture of reality for women in the 1800s...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Callum McLaughlin).
Both the first hospital and the first medical school in the United States were founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, landing it the nickname "City of Medicine." Therefore, it seems only natural that it also became home to the first school in the world dedicated to providing women with a full formal education in the field, allowing them to study for a medical degree. In Ritu Mukerji's Murder by Degrees, protagonist Lydia Weston is a professor at this school.
Established in 1850, it was initially named the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania but rebranded in 1867 as the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP). Its founders were a group of radical Quakers who had long championed social change, including the abolition of ...
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A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say
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Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye
Murder by Degrees stars a capable, likeable heroine in Dr. Lydia Weston, who battles for acceptance every day as a female doctor in 19th century Philadelphia, and when one of her favorite patients turns up apparently murdered Lydia will need all her diagnostic skills to unmask the killer. Ritu Mukerji—a practicing physician herself, her expertise shining on every page—pens a heartfelt ode to the historic women who blazed a trail in medicine before her as well as a wonderfully entertaining mystery. Hopefully Lydia Weston's adventures will continue in future volumes!
