In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Mary Seacole

  • Introduction
  • Primary Text: Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands
  • Mary Seacole: Genre and Narrative Voice

Victorian Literature Mary Seacole
by
Ivette Romero
  • LAST REVIEWED: 26 September 2022
  • LAST MODIFIED: 26 September 2022
  • DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199799558-0174

Introduction

Mary Seacole (b. 1805–d. 1881) was born Mary Jane Grant in Kingston, Jamaica, daughter of a Scottish lieutenant in the British Army, James Grant, and a freed Jamaican woman (slavery was abolished in Jamaica in 1838), who is only referred to as Mrs. Grant. Mrs. Grant was the proprietor of Blundell Hall, a boarding house in Kingston, and a recognized healer—or “doctress”—who used her knowledge of traditional medicine to tend to the community and visitors such as sailors, soldiers, and travelers. Mary Jane Grant—Mary Jane Seacole after marrying Edwin Horatio Hamilton Seacole—learned about the properties of plants, healing, nursing, and patient care from her mother. Through the decades, starting with her early life in Kingston and the many spaces she traversed around the world—as recounted in her autobiography and the media—and ending in present-day discussions of her public persona, much importance was given to her biracial status. Often referred to as a mixed-race, mulatta, or quadroon, in her own writing, she positions herself as a Creole, while defying stereotypes of the “laziness” attributed to “the Creole race” through her industrious nature. Because of her complexion (light or dark, depending on the beholder), she was often referred to as “yellow”—a term used in the framework of Victorian era colorism, which still persists in the Anglophone Caribbean and the United States (e.g., “high yellow”)—earning her sobriquets like “the yellow doctress from Jamaica.” Seacole is well-known for her autobiography, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (London: James Blackwood, 1857), which recounts her travels, adventures, and business ventures, particularly in the hospitality industry, with attention to her pursuit of nursing and providing goods—remedies, teas, sweets, and others—for the sick or disabled. During the Victorian period, she was known for her nursing through her journeys and prolonged stays in Central America and Cuba, but her enduring reputation came from her work during the Crimean War (1853–1856). Expressing undying admiration for the British Empire and, in particular, the British troops, she attempted to enroll as a nurse through the War Office and Florence Nightingale’s corps. Denied official entry, Seacole determinedly found ways to secure funds for her voyage, traveled to Crimea, and dedicated her time, attention, investments, and healing skills to establish a makeshift hotel—the British Hotel—to provide for wounded and convalescing soldiers from the Crimean battlefield. Although her bravery, nursing skills, and affectionate care were celebrated among those who met “the yellow doctress from Jamaica,” after the war she returned to England as a heroic, but penniless, figure. The writing of her autobiography, along with fundraising activities organized by her supporters, was another venture to bring attention to Seacole’s heroism and subsequent need, and to provide financial stability.

Primary Text: Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands

After its original publication by James Blackwood in 1857, Mary Seacole’s autobiography, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands, remained in virtual obscurity until its first annotated issue by Ziggi Alexander and Audrey Dewjee, was published in 1984 by Falling Wall Press. After that year, the book has been published consistently, appearing in many formats, often including introductions, forewords, or ancillary texts by various editors. In the list of selected versions of the autobiography, the title may appear exactly like the original, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands, or with different modifications and subtitles. (Note: The original “Mrs” may appear as “Mrs.” [with punctuation added].)

  • Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands. Edited by W. H. Russell. London: Blackwood, 1857.

    This is the earliest edition of Seacole’s autobiography, edited and prefaced by British war correspondent for The Times, William Howard Russell.

  • Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands. Edited by Ziggi Alexander and Audrey Dewjee. Bristol, UK: Falling Wall Press, 1984.

    This paperback edition includes an editors’ introduction, bibliography, index, notes and appendices by the editors.

  • Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands. Schomburg Library of Nineteenth-Century Black Women Writers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

    A hardcover edition meant to be a faithful reproduction of the original. Part of The Schomburg Library of Nineteenth-Century Black Women Writers series. It includes a foreword by the editor of the series, Henry Louis Gates, and an introduction by William L. Andrews.

  • Seacole, Mary. Jamaican Nightingale: Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. Edited by George Cadogan. Stratford, ON: Williams-Wallace Publishers, 1989.

    Reprint of the original 1875 Blackwell edition. It does not include critical essays.

  • Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands. Edited by Sara Salih. London: Penguin Classics, 2005.

    A paperback edition that includes a detailed introduction and extensive annotation with a chronology, suggestions for further reading, maps, an appendix, and a glossary.

  • Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. Kaplan Classics of Medicine. New York: Kaplan Publishing, 2009.

    Includes a foreword by Harriet A. Washington, author of Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present (New York: Doubleday, 2006).

  • Seacole, Mary. The Black Florence Nightingale: Autobiography of a Mary Seacole, a Black Nurse, and the Vivid Account of Her Role in the Crimean and Other Wars. Scotts Valley, CA: Createspace, 2010.

    A paperback edition, published under a provocative title, in view of controversies surrounding public reception and assessment of Seacole’s account of her adventures and heroic acts.

  • Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands. Macmillan Collector’s Library. London: Macmillan, 2020.

    This hardcover edition is part of the series. It contains the unabridged autobiography with the original preface by W.H. Russell, without additional sections or critical notes.

  • Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands: Memoirs of Britain’s Greatest Black Heroine, Business Woman and Crimean War Nurse. Monee, IL: E-Artnow, 2020.

    This version of the autobiography adds a descriptive subtitle: Memoirs of Britain’s Greatest Black Heroine, underlining recent appraisals of Seacole as a leading black Briton. It is available in Kindle and paperback editions. It does not include an introduction or additional materials.

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