The Invincible Miss Cust - a book reveiw

 

The Invincible Miss Cust,  from the historical fiction genre, is based on the life of Aleen Cust who was the first woman veterinary surgeon.  

Although Aleen was part of an aristocratic English family in the latter part of the 1800s where girls were expected to be brought up to prepare to run a household,  Aleen was always more comfortable outside with the horses.

The story opens in Tipperary, Ireland when Aleen is six years old and challenging her three brothers to a race with their horses...which she wins.   Her father was a land agent and obviously during this time was not well liked by the people.  When he died, Aleen, her brothers and sister moved back to England along with their mother.

Aleen's dream was to become a veterinary surgeon from the time she was a child.  She had a love and knowledge of animals that was far beyond her years.  Any time that Aleen would approach the family about her desires she was put down because of the shame it would bring to the Cust name.  Her mother was a woman of the bedchamber for Queen Victoria, and her brother Charles was equerry to King George.

Orlando Cust, the brother whom Aleen was close to and understood her desires, died suddenly and in his will left money to Aleen with the stipulation that it was not to be joined with the inheritance she would receive from her father's death.  His was to be separate.  Aleen chose to use that money to enter training to become a veterinary surgeon.  She first had to attend university for a year in order to enter the Royal College Veterinary School.  This was a time when women had just been able to break into the field of medicine as nurses and doctors.  A woman veterinarian was unheard of.  

Aleen is admitted into the RCVS and excels in her studies for the three years required, but when it came time to graduate, the college refused to allow her to sit for her final examinations that would grant her a certification as a veterinary surgeon.  Through many different circumstances, she worked with a veterinarian in Ireland for many years before the college granted her the right to sit for her final examination in 1922.  

I enjoyed learning about Aleen Cust and all of the obstacles that she incurred to become the first woman veterinary surgeon.  One thing I admired greatly about her is that even though her family totally wrote her off as a member of the family, she contined to send them cards and notes at birthdays and holidays.  She was definitely a woman of perseverance.  I also enjoyed the relationship she had with her close friend Dorothy and felt her pain when Dorothy was killed in an accident.

At the end of the book there are a few pages titled, "Author's Notes".  In these few pages Penny Haw explains what was fact and what was her own imagination when it came to writing the novel.  All of the things that I enjoyed about Aleen Cust were fact, but I found the parts that the author left to her own imagination rather unkind to the character of Aleen, regarding her relationship with the veterinary surgeon she worked for in Ireland whose name was Willie Byrne.  To me, it took away from the "pureness" of Miss Cust's character.  It was based off of "rumors" and as the author put it, "the precise details of their relationship were known only to them.  The version offered in this book is largely the product of my imagination."

While I enjoyed the majority of the book, I could not wholeheartedly recommend the book as a wholesome read because of the way Miss Cust's relationship with Willie was presented so indiscreetly.