Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857) is the autobiography of a Jamaican woman whose fame rivaled Florence Nightingale's during the Crimean War. Mary Seacole travelled widely before eventually arriving in London, where her offer to volunteer as a nurse in the war was met with racism and refusal. Undaunted, she set out independently to the Crimea, where she acted as doctor and 'mother' to wounded soldiers while running her business, the 'British Hotel'. A witness to major battles, Seacole gives vivid accounts of how she coped with disease, bombardment and other hardships at the battlefront. Told with energy, warmth and humour, her remarkable life story provides significant insights into the history of race politics.<BR>This new Penguin Classic is accompanied by an introduction by Sara Salih, placing Wonderful Adventures in its historical and political contexts, and discussing Seacole's attitudes to race, slavery, and war. This edition also includes suggestions for further reading, a chronology, an appendix, notes and maps.