Annie Nathan Meyers 1892 novel Helen Brent M.D. narrates one womans struggle for public acceptance as a doctor and a lady among the New York City elite. Unlike earlier works of medical fiction Helen Brent M.D. does not offer just a marriage-or-career narrative but also a treatise on sex education. Dr. Brent is a skilled surgeon a New Woman who also deals with the negative effects of venereal diseases and other social ills of the urban elite on womens health.