A well-researched work by the daughter of Jamini Sen's great niece, Deepta Roy Chakraverti portrays the journey of a young girl who was born in Bakerganj district of Bengal Presidency and subsequently took on the world with her unfettered views and her skill in modern medical practice. Nepal, Scotland, Berlin — all recognized her expertise and dedication. In today's age of women empowerment, of breaking the glass ceilings, the book, thus, proves to be greatly inspirational paying tribute to the first female Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow whose portrait was commissioned to be displayed at the 425th anniversary of the college.

While exploring Jamini's trailblazing work as a doctor who with determination, courage and farsightedness introduced innovations, set right the existing problems of hygiene and health not just in an India steeped in superstition and orthodoxy, the author in her lucid storytelling approach, allows a glimpse into the doctor's emotional conflicts, her idealism, her pain, her hours of loneliness and a dithering spirituality occasionally haunting a razor-sharp mind. We detect in the lines, the love and respect showered on this progressive and uncompromising lady by her patients who belonged to different ethnicities.

The biographical details appear all the more absorbing as the book simultaneously affords a social commentary on the changing times. Be it the Bengal Renaissance, the contemporary intrigues in the echelons of power in Nepal, the gradual transition in the position of women in the world, or an interesting focus on the ever evolving fashions in the feminine wardrobe, the scope of the book is immense. Yet the simple straightforward narrative technique crystallizes in a quiet but riveting manner the scale of achievement of a fearless lady doctor in a world still faltering to recognize a woman's capabilities.

Daktarin Jamini Sen makes a compelling read.