Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands

This is an autobiography about Mary Seacole in the mid to late 1800s.
Like other books like this, it's often confusing because the author sees no reason to explain
common terms, cultural actions etc that people from that time would just know.
She had an amazing life and the book is a good read.
I would recommend that you also listen to the History Chicks podcast about her.
She also appears in a recent Dr. Who episode.