Penny Marsh works mostly in public health nursing, first in a rural area and later in a big city. Though she marries a doctor early in the series (and eventually has children), she continues her nursing career. During World War II, while her husband is serving overseas, Penny works diligently on the homefront, helping to recruit new nurses. Some books in the series focus on Penny's younger colleagues, including Ginger Lee and Pam Wilson, rather than on Penny herself.

Penny Marsh, Public Health Nurse, 1938

Penny Marsh, Supervisor of Public Health Nurses, 1939
Penny encounters new experiences and difficulties while training as a supervisor for the visiting nurse service of a large city.

Dorothy Deming was herself a registered nurse who wrote several other career books about the various opportunities in nursing.

Penny Marsh Finds Adventure in Public Health Nursing, 1940
When new husband Harry has an opportunity to do research in Brazil, Penny returns to nursing as the first county nurse in a rural area.

Ginger Lee: War Nurse, 1942
Penny's protegee Ginger signs on for a year of duty in the army, working in the South and readying herself for a possible call-up if war comes.

Cherry Ames, War Nurse: Fiction Meets Reality Explore an in-depth account of Cherry Ames's experiences as a nurse during wartime. Click here to read more!

Penny Marsh and Ginger Lee: Wartime Nurses, 1943
Ginger returns to the army after the attack on Pearl Harbor and serves on Bataan, while Penny works on the homefront to alleviate the nursing shortage after her husband, Harry, joins the army.

Penny and Pam, Nurse and Cadet, 1944
On a fact-finding trip for the Red Cross, Penny is joined by young Pamela Wilson, who is trying to decide whether to become a cadet nurse.

Patriotism and Propaganda in Girls' Series: Fictional Nurses of World War II All about World War II nurses in girls' series books, from Susan Merton to Nancy Naylor to Ann Bartlett. Click here to read more!

Pam Wilson, Registered Nurse, 1946
Following in Penny's footsteps, Pam graduates from nursing school and travels to Alaska as a nurse with the Indian Service, then works at a rural hospital in New England.

Nursing Assignment in El Salvador, 1954
At the behest of a federal health services agency, Penny accepts a four-month post as a nursing consultant in Central America, accompanied by a younger nurse named Judy Carr.

Penny Marsh, R.N., Director of Nurses, 1960
Penny takes a post as acting director of a nursing school as her young friend Heather begins her training.

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