title: Mary Seacole Robinson Jane Mary Seacole 288pp Constable 9781841196770 1841196770.
abstract: At last, a biography of Mary Seacole. Written by Jane Robinson, a noted author on women travellers, the publication coincides with the bicentenary of Ms Seacole's birth. While making plentiful reference to Ms Seacole's 1857 autobiography, congratulations are due to Ms Robinson for unearthing new information about her subject. One example is Ms Seacole's putative father, a Scottish army officer called James Grant. It also seems to throw cold water on the allegation, made by Florence Nightingale to her sister Parthenope, that Ms Seacole had an illegitimate daughter by a Colonel Bunbury. In contrast, the biographer is clearly frustrated that her enquiries in Jamaica failed to uncover Ms Seacole's exact date of birth.