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Wonderful Adventures[edit source]
A 200-page autobiographical account of her travels was published in July 1857 by James Blackwood as Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, the first autobiography written by a black woman in Britain.[120] Priced at one shilling and six pence (1/6) a copy, the cover bears a striking portrait of Seacole in red, yellow and black ink.[121] Robinson speculates that she dictated the work to an editor, identified in the book only as W.J.S., who improved her grammar and orthography.[122] In the work Seacole deals with the first 39 years of her life in one short chapter.[123] She then expends six chapters on her few years in Panama, before using the following 12 chapters to detail her exploits in Crimea. She avoids mention of the names of her parents and precise date of birth. '''In the first chapter, she talks about how her practice of medicine began on animals, such as cats and dogs. Most of the animals had caught diseases from their owners and she would cure them with homemade remedies.''' A short final "Conclusion" deals with her return to England, and lists supporters of her fund-raising effort, including Rokeby, Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar, the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Newcastle, William Russell, and other prominent men in the military. Also within the Conclusion, she describes all of her career adventures experienced in the Crimean War as pride and pleasure. The book was dedicated to Major-General Lord Rokeby, commander of the First Division. In a brief preface, the Times correspondent William Howard Russell wrote, "I have witnessed her devotion and her courage ... and I trust that England will never forget one who has nursed her sick, who sought out her wounded to aid and succour them and who performed the last offices for some of her illustrious dead."[124] Within the book, Mrs.Seacole talks about how when she returned from the Crimean War she was poor, whereas others in her same position returned to England rich. '''Mrs. Seacole also talks about the respect she gained from the men in the Crimean War. The soldiers would refer to her as "mother" and would ensure her safety by personally guarding her on the battlefield.''' The Illustrated London News received the autobiography favorably agreeing with the statements made in the preface "If singleness of heart, true charity and Christian works- of trials and sufferings, dangers and perils, encountered boldly by a helpless women on her errand of mercy in the camp and in the battlefield can excite sympathy or move curiosity, Mary Seacole will have many friends and many readers".[101]

In 2017 Robert McCrum chose it as one of the 100 best nonfiction books, calling it "gloriously entertaining".[125]