"Hospital Sketches" is a fictionalised account of Louisa May Alcott's experiences nursing during the Civil War and presented in a collection of letters. The book garnered Alcott's first critical recognition for her observations and humour.

Tribulation Periwinkle, looking for something to do, follow the suggestion of her brother, Tom, and decided to become a nurse for the Union Army. However, her difficulties begin before she even gets to the hospital. She describes the inconveniences of travel on her way to Washington, D.C. Once Nurse Periwinkle arrives at the Hurly-Burly Hotel, a temporary hospital, she has to learn how to nurse.