While The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands contains a wide variety of information and stories from the author’s life, she spends most of the book focusing on her time as a frontline nurse during the Crimean War. Lasting from 1853 to 1856, the Crimean War was an attempt by Great Britain and its allies to prevent the Russian Empire from expanding even further into lands previously belonging to the Ottoman Empire. The Russian Empire still considered itself to be at the height of its power, despite conflicts waging inside its own borders, and was desperate for even more land, even more control over the surrounding area; a common trend in the country’s long and bloody history. As a Jamaican-British citizen, Mrs. Seacole sided against the Russian forces, and sought to bring a sense of the English spirit to the battlefield, wanting to heal not only the soldier’s physical bodies, but also their souls by reminding them of home. She became a sort of mother figure to these men, simlutaneously "seeking self-conciously to identify herself with the 'mother' country" (Poon 501); in a sense, she was England for them. 

Published in England in 1857, The Adventures of Mrs. Seacole provided a glimpse into the realities of the war for the British that they had not seen up until this point, as it was a time with limited media coverage. Seacole’s work was a good balance of humor and comfort, as well as displaying the true tragedy that befell so many young Englishmen during the horrors of battle. “I returned from [my Crimean campaign] shaken in health. I came home wounded, as many others did” (Seacole); she was open and honest about her experiences, and that was an endearing quality for her readers, who were very eager to purchase her work. She did not hold back in her descriptions of the ferocity with which the Russians were pressing against the British forces, determined to stop at nothing to retain the land they were so anxious to control. 

One aspect of Mrs. Seacole’s work that particularly stands out is her attitude towards the fighting: “This was my first experience of actual battle, and I felt that strange excitement which I do not remember on future occasions, coupled with an earnest longing to see more of warfare, and to share in its hazards” (Seacole). Some scholars agree that parts of Seacole's work does somewhat fuel the fire of colonialism and conflict (Paquet 661). War brings with it a certain fascination for some people, and while Mary Seacole’s interest was in no way malicious but instead out of care and concern, the way she describes that “strange excitement” here seems to be a feeling that has resurfaced time and again, even to this day. To the outside world, the current Ukrainian invasion does not seem to be prompted by anything more than a strong desire for conflict; even some of the Russian people themselves would agree that Putin’s efforts have little substance other than his desire to return to Russia’s glory days. With Ukraine in his grasp, he will be one step closer to reuniting an empire. Over and over again, just like many Russian leaders who have come before him, Putin has proved himself to be one who possesses an “earnest longing to see more of warfare.”

Works Cited 

Seacole, Mary. The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. 1857. COVE Studio, studio.covecollective.org/anthologies/sp22-eng-l302-anthology/documents/wonderful-adventures-of-mrs-seacole-in-many-lands.

Related Links: 

https://editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/literary-event-wonderfu...