The Mad Doctor (novel)

The Mad Doctor is a 1935 novel by Australian author F. J. Thwaites, a melodramatic medical romance set in Africa.^[1][2]

Thwaites based the novel on a story he heard from an old man while crossing the Atlantic in 1933. However, he changed the tragic ending to a more optimistic one.^[3]

Plot[]

A Sydney surgeon is sent to jail. When he gets out, finding himself a social outcast, he goes to work in the African jungle. Although he only works among the native Africans, his reputation as a miracle worker in cases of paralysis spreads far and wide.

Adaptation[]

The novel was adapted for radio in Adelaide in 1936.^[4] During the production of this, Thwaites met the actress Jessica Harcourt, who he later married.^[5]

The Mad Doctor in Harley Street[]

The Mad Doctor in Harley Street is a 1938 novel by F. J. Thwaites. A sequel to The Mad Doctor, it describes the doctor's efforts to get his cure recognised by the medical establishment in London. A contemporary review says that the novel "bubbles over with sentimentalism."^[6]

The novel was adapted for radio in 1938.^[7]

References[]

External links[]

• The Mad Doctor at AustLit
• The Mad Doctor of Harley Street at AustLit