On 23 February 1854, the Scots Fusilier Guards marched past Buckingham Palace resplendent in full regalia en route to the Crimea, as Queen Victoria bowed and waved proudly from the balcony. Day after day there were anxious farewells as husbands, sons and fathers set off to war; leaving their women to face a bleak uncertain future. Schoolchildren learn the story of Florence Nightingale who heroically tended the sick during the Crimean War. But she was not the only woman to play her part. Numerous women from all social classes were actively engaged in the war, often in the most surprising ways. Based on dozens of rare and often unpublished accounts No Place for Ladies is a rich, colourful and fascinating picture of very different women at war.