The Hive — Claire Rayner

Originally published in 1967 as 'A Starch of Aprons', 'The Hive' is a nursing drama in which the author, a former nurse, convincingly evokes the claustrophobic atmosphere of the wards of the Royal Hospital in London. Elizabeth Manton, a new Matron, arrives and is determined to change the hospital and the lives of the nurses working in it. The nurses' pent-up emotions and desires are constricted by hospital routine and Matron re-kindles her own affair with a consultant. When a tragedy almost occurs, however, she is forced to reconsider her position.