Sunday, June 20, 2010

Ten of the best good doctors in literature

For the Guardian, John Mullan named ten of the best good doctors in literature.

One doctor on the list:
Dr Stephen Maturin

In the Napoleonic nautical yarns of Patrick O'Brian, Maturin is right-hand man to Captain Jack Aubrey. As well as being the ship's surgeon, Maturin is a part-time spy and a famous naturalist. Fluent in a dozen languages, he is something of a bohemian: a former opium addict and an accomplished cellist and flautist. Sometimes he has time to cure people.
Read about another doctor on the list.

The Aubrey/Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brian also appears on Bella Bathurst's top ten list of books on the sea. Master & Commander, the first book in the series, is one of Peter Mayle's six best books.

Also see Mullan's list of ten of the best bad doctors in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue