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The Doctor and the Devils and Other Scripts
Dylan Thomas's principal works for film and radio provide a rewarding experience for those readers who know him only through his poetry and stories. The Doctor and the Devils is the scenario for a feature-length film. This tale of murder is based on the famous case of the Scottish body-snatchers Burke and Hare, who thrilled newspaper readers in the mid-nineteenth century and whose crimes are still relished among homicide buffs today. Giving full reign to the macabre, Thomas created characters and an atmosphere worthy of his best short stories.
There are also other Thomas his unfinished screen adaptation of Maurice O'Sullivan's autobiographical memoir Twenty Years A-Coming , with a synopsis of Thomas's probable approach to its completion; a short radio play, produced by the BBC in 1946 and directly related to the later Under Milk Wood ; with an essay in which Ralph Maud traces the textual relationship; and a group of captions in verse for photographs in the British magazine Lilliput .
There are also other Thomas his unfinished screen adaptation of Maurice O'Sullivan's autobiographical memoir Twenty Years A-Coming , with a synopsis of Thomas's probable approach to its completion; a short radio play, produced by the BBC in 1946 and directly related to the later Under Milk Wood ; with an essay in which Ralph Maud traces the textual relationship; and a group of captions in verse for photographs in the British magazine Lilliput .
229 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
6 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
About the author
Dylan Thomas
590 books1,411 followersDylan Marlais Thomas (1914-1953) was a Welsh poet who wrote in English. Many regard him as one of the 20th century's most influential poets.
In addition to poetry, Thomas wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, with the latter frequently performed by Thomas himself. His public readings, particularly in America, won him great acclaim; his booming, at times, ostentatious voice, with a subtle Welsh lilt, became almost as famous as his works. His best-known work includes the "play for voices" Under Milk Wood and the celebrated villanelle for his dying father, "Do not go gentle into that good night." Appreciative critics have also noted the superb craftsmanship and compression of poems such as "In my craft or sullen art" and the rhapsodic lyricism of Fern Hill.
In addition to poetry, Thomas wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, with the latter frequently performed by Thomas himself. His public readings, particularly in America, won him great acclaim; his booming, at times, ostentatious voice, with a subtle Welsh lilt, became almost as famous as his works. His best-known work includes the "play for voices" Under Milk Wood and the celebrated villanelle for his dying father, "Do not go gentle into that good night." Appreciative critics have also noted the superb craftsmanship and compression of poems such as "In my craft or sullen art" and the rhapsodic lyricism of Fern Hill.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 4, 2026
If Oliver Twist and Frankenstein had a half-baked baby… I wish this was a novel. It’s predictable, but Thomas’ writing makes it enjoyable. So many characters could have been so interesting, but it seemed like none of them had time to be. But I enjoyed the potential. It is a failed screenplay after all…
December 14, 2023
First movie script I’ve read. The camera movement descriptions made the read so visceral like I was watching the movie. Really enjoyed it.
October 26, 2022
*** this includes spoilers, but I don’t think the plot is meant to surprise anyone ***
This is an interesting work, though not as a screenplay. The work is too long and subtle for a movie. It’s gothic tale of horror is certainly interesting, but the sheer number of characters, subtleties and themes makes it impractical. Perhaps it could work as a tv mini-series.
It’s true potential, I feel, is as an experimental novel form. It is a fascinating way to present a story. It comes close to Thomas Hardy’s Dynast, another unsuccessful work. That is a novel written in play format, but it suffers other weaknesses (mostly in the lack of interesting characters).
Thomas’ play abounds in interesting characters and macabre situations. The depictions of class and extreme poverty are themselves interesting.
The work, however, has a couple serious flaws or weaknesses. First, I think the characters of Fallon and Broom are never truly developed. They have some depth, but their road to digging up corpses is never really explained. Are they just “devils”? Or were they made devils? What brought out their transition from grave robbers to murderers? I think there is a golden opportunity to contrast Dr. Rock with Fallon, but it is missed.
The second weakness involves the final denouement. The story sets up many complex issues, but the current ending doesn’t really get to the core of them. It simply wraps up the story with Fallon’s hanging.
This is a difficult challenge, I’m not sure I have a solution. Perhaps the trial scene could have been extended to lay bare the complexities of class, poverty and scientific “progress.” They might have been better served if they swerved from the historical facts and had Rock testify as either a witness or one of the accused. That might have had better portrayed the dramatic revelation which, as it exists now, is rather muted and anti-climactic. (I.e., Rock’s sudden “I knew what I was doing!” at the end.) But my suggestions would have certainly made the work much longer and precluded any possible movie.
Overall, if you enjoy Dylan Thomas’s prose, you’ll want to read this. And those of you interested in alternative forms of the novel, this could be useful. Otherwise, it’s a fun read but not required.
This is an interesting work, though not as a screenplay. The work is too long and subtle for a movie. It’s gothic tale of horror is certainly interesting, but the sheer number of characters, subtleties and themes makes it impractical. Perhaps it could work as a tv mini-series.
It’s true potential, I feel, is as an experimental novel form. It is a fascinating way to present a story. It comes close to Thomas Hardy’s Dynast, another unsuccessful work. That is a novel written in play format, but it suffers other weaknesses (mostly in the lack of interesting characters).
Thomas’ play abounds in interesting characters and macabre situations. The depictions of class and extreme poverty are themselves interesting.
The work, however, has a couple serious flaws or weaknesses. First, I think the characters of Fallon and Broom are never truly developed. They have some depth, but their road to digging up corpses is never really explained. Are they just “devils”? Or were they made devils? What brought out their transition from grave robbers to murderers? I think there is a golden opportunity to contrast Dr. Rock with Fallon, but it is missed.
The second weakness involves the final denouement. The story sets up many complex issues, but the current ending doesn’t really get to the core of them. It simply wraps up the story with Fallon’s hanging.
This is a difficult challenge, I’m not sure I have a solution. Perhaps the trial scene could have been extended to lay bare the complexities of class, poverty and scientific “progress.” They might have been better served if they swerved from the historical facts and had Rock testify as either a witness or one of the accused. That might have had better portrayed the dramatic revelation which, as it exists now, is rather muted and anti-climactic. (I.e., Rock’s sudden “I knew what I was doing!” at the end.) But my suggestions would have certainly made the work much longer and precluded any possible movie.
Overall, if you enjoy Dylan Thomas’s prose, you’ll want to read this. And those of you interested in alternative forms of the novel, this could be useful. Otherwise, it’s a fun read but not required.
July 28, 2013
Wonderfully written fast paced and thoughtful. Cripplingly well observed and just the right amount of dark and light. Most things this fast paced I baulk at but DT is too good a writer to not naturally take every bit of excitement and turn it into gripping dramatic tension.
February 15, 2008
First TV script I've read.
Dylan Thomas wrote it for the BBC. So it's like a really, really, good episode of "Lost."
Dylan Thomas wrote it for the BBC. So it's like a really, really, good episode of "Lost."
October 12, 2021
Spoiler alert. Beep beep beep.
The Doctor and the Devils is a screenplay Dylan Thomas wrote to dramatize the real-life 19th century case of famed Scottish Dr. Knox, who paid disreputable men for corpses for his anatomical studies, a practice which led to them expediting the supply of said corpses through murder. This part of the process was veiled rather thinly to Knox, but he carried on anyway, believing that the ends justified the means. When the murderers were discovered, one turned state’s evidence, the other hung, and guess what? The good doctor walked. Yes, you see, the aristocracy at the time feared that if Dr. Knox was prosecuted, it would be akin to putting the upper echelons of society and its intelligentsia on trial, leading to anarchy, chaos, dogs and cats living together, and who knows what else. How maddeningly typical of what still happens today with a lot of white collar crime.
The story is in great hands with Thomas. His imagery is sufficiently dark and creepy, he paints a great picture of the sordid life of the Edinburgh poor at the time, and his poetic sensibilities come through in a variety of ways. The coldly intellectual and fiercely independent doctor is nuanced, having married beneath his station for love, pushed real medical progress, and flouted society, all of which makes him an interesting character. Thomas keeps the story focused, and perhaps a little too focused. It’s well-told and a good, brisk, read, but maybe would have been better fleshed out more, as there is plenty of raw material to build from here.
Quotes:
On free thinking:
“To think, then, is to enter into a perilous country, colder of welcome than the polar wastes, darker than a Scottish Sunday, where the hand of the unthinker is always raised against you, where the wild animals, who go by such names as Envy, Hypocrisy, and Tradition, are notoriously carnivorous, and where the parasites rule.”
On love, conflicted:
“Is a moment enough for you, then, my dear, my dear? And all the long night to go… You’re a sad, strange boy, saying you love me and leaving me all alone…”
On old age:
“I am an old man. You should not ask old men how they feel, or they will tell you.”
On stoicism:
“Would you have me death-dance and moan, like a Gaelic dipsomaniac at a distillery fire? Must tragedy go immediately to the feet and the tongue? Because I can observe my history calmly as it burns and topples around me, you emotional gluttons think yourself cheated. ‘Oh, he can’t feel anything,’ you say. ‘When we told him his life was over, he did not tear the relics of his hair or address the travelling moon in blank verse. He blew his nose and called for Burgundy.’”
Lastly this one, loved the wordplay:
“Murray: Thomas was on top of the world.
Brown: Gracious, loquacious, insulting, exulting…
Harding: [Overtopping him] … drastic, bombastic, charming, disarming…
Brown: [Not to be outdone, with extravagant gestures] … avuncular, carbuncular…”
The Doctor and the Devils is a screenplay Dylan Thomas wrote to dramatize the real-life 19th century case of famed Scottish Dr. Knox, who paid disreputable men for corpses for his anatomical studies, a practice which led to them expediting the supply of said corpses through murder. This part of the process was veiled rather thinly to Knox, but he carried on anyway, believing that the ends justified the means. When the murderers were discovered, one turned state’s evidence, the other hung, and guess what? The good doctor walked. Yes, you see, the aristocracy at the time feared that if Dr. Knox was prosecuted, it would be akin to putting the upper echelons of society and its intelligentsia on trial, leading to anarchy, chaos, dogs and cats living together, and who knows what else. How maddeningly typical of what still happens today with a lot of white collar crime.
The story is in great hands with Thomas. His imagery is sufficiently dark and creepy, he paints a great picture of the sordid life of the Edinburgh poor at the time, and his poetic sensibilities come through in a variety of ways. The coldly intellectual and fiercely independent doctor is nuanced, having married beneath his station for love, pushed real medical progress, and flouted society, all of which makes him an interesting character. Thomas keeps the story focused, and perhaps a little too focused. It’s well-told and a good, brisk, read, but maybe would have been better fleshed out more, as there is plenty of raw material to build from here.
Quotes:
On free thinking:
“To think, then, is to enter into a perilous country, colder of welcome than the polar wastes, darker than a Scottish Sunday, where the hand of the unthinker is always raised against you, where the wild animals, who go by such names as Envy, Hypocrisy, and Tradition, are notoriously carnivorous, and where the parasites rule.”
On love, conflicted:
“Is a moment enough for you, then, my dear, my dear? And all the long night to go… You’re a sad, strange boy, saying you love me and leaving me all alone…”
On old age:
“I am an old man. You should not ask old men how they feel, or they will tell you.”
On stoicism:
“Would you have me death-dance and moan, like a Gaelic dipsomaniac at a distillery fire? Must tragedy go immediately to the feet and the tongue? Because I can observe my history calmly as it burns and topples around me, you emotional gluttons think yourself cheated. ‘Oh, he can’t feel anything,’ you say. ‘When we told him his life was over, he did not tear the relics of his hair or address the travelling moon in blank verse. He blew his nose and called for Burgundy.’”
Lastly this one, loved the wordplay:
“Murray: Thomas was on top of the world.
Brown: Gracious, loquacious, insulting, exulting…
Harding: [Overtopping him] … drastic, bombastic, charming, disarming…
Brown: [Not to be outdone, with extravagant gestures] … avuncular, carbuncular…”
April 3, 2020
I wanted to enjoy this book, but the tale was too obvious. I enjoyed the writing and character banter, but that was all. The story is almost a direct representation of the actual events of The Burke and Hare murders that occurred in Scotland in 1828. As I was reading I thought the book had to be different. Why would Dylan Thomas just write an historical event as his own and only add subtle nuances of character ? I don’t know why, but he did. I guess if I hadn’t known about this event before reading it would have been a more interesting tale. Although, I haven’t done much research on the book so maybe it was supposed to be a dramatic retelling of those events, although the names had been changed. Anyway, if you’ve never read Dylan Thomas before, I urge you not to make this your first read.
February 11, 2025
This was presented as a screenplay, which i thought would be fun change to traditional fiction novels. I found it distracting and lacking detail. In particular I found none of the characters distinctive or compelling. The setting was bland, shocking considering it was the big selling point for me to begin reading. I got nothing out of the ending, except perhaps that some people never get what's coming to them (in Broom's case. I would warn "spoiler" but who cares. I saved you the trouble). I might even revise this to 1 star later. A completely forgettable experience.
May 13, 2023
Thomas made it easy (and kinda fun) to imagine making this screenplay into a 1950s horror movie, with all its sinister character actors and long shots on dark city streets. Having no tolerance for blood, horror that meets 1950s tv censorship is apparently my threshold. You still get the psychological stimulation without having to endure descriptions of gruesome violence.
September 23, 2019
Ehhhh. I'll forever love many of Thomas' poems, and Under Milk Wood is great, but this was just too disjointed. Too weird for its good. That's all. Macabre & strange, which is fine...But terribly disjointed.
November 5, 2019
Small read. Just wanted to finish some pages plus wanted a taste of Dylan Thomas. I liked the story. Morbid enough for me and shows agony of knowing your crime and still living.
If you ever read this review later, today you might be in love with Sugar, and freaking confused.
If you ever read this review later, today you might be in love with Sugar, and freaking confused.
March 26, 2018
4 1/4 stars
February 25, 2023
2.5 stars
**read in response to 2023 popsugar reading challenge prompt “a book with alliteration in the title”**
**read in response to 2023 popsugar reading challenge prompt “a book with alliteration in the title”**
February 13, 2025
Cool screenplay
Dylan Thomas <3
Dylan Thomas <3
June 6, 2025
Pretentiousness while reading on tube 8.5/10. Yes I read plays, yes get over it. Another cautionary tale of being too smart leads to derision and being run out of town! Classic! No one likes a nerd
June 7, 2025
love screenplays that simply can't work as a movie
January 5, 2026
Cool read.
January 7, 2014
The Doctor and the Devils is a play about body snatchers in Edinburgh, and the morbid scandal they caused during the earliest days of modern anatomical research in medical schools. Dr. Rock, the man who essentially created the market for such criminal activity, is described in the preface as “all intellect – sardonic, superior, fastidious and contemptuous of the social hypocrisy of his own class. His sin is the sin of pride: pride in his surgeon’s skill, pride in his teacher’s gift, pride in his contempt for what is sentimental and irrational. His attitude toward life is an odd, selfconscious mixture of natural kindness and lively contempt.” Indeed, he establishes this character for himself in such lines as:
“When one burns one’s boats, what a very nice fire it makes.” (11)
“Our aim for ever must be the pursuit of the knowledge of Man in his entirety. To study the flesh, the skin, the bones, the organs, the nerves of Man, is to equip our minds with a knowledge that will enable us to search beyond the body. The noble profession at whose threshold you stand as neophytes is not an end in itself. The science of Anatomy contributes to the great sum of all Knowledge, which is the Truth: the whole Truth of the Life of Man upon this turning earth. And so: Observe precisely. Record exactly. Neglect nothing. Fear no foe. Never swerve from your purpose. Pay no heed to Safety.
For I believe that all men can be happy and that the good life can be led upon this earth.
I believe that all men must work towards that end.
And I believe that that end justifies any means….
Let no scruples stand in the way of the progress of medical science!” (13)
“I do not need any friends. I prefer enemies. They are better company and their feelings towards you are always genuine. No, it is only that some overweening and underbred women, the wives and tormentors of unlucky doctors, have contrived to tell Annabella that they would not accept our invitation to dinner.” (20)
The exceptional points of this period drama are the brilliant language of Dr. Rock himself, and the psychological analysis of his motives. The rest of the drama is really a retelling of actual events (Dr. Knox), and in my opinion is less remarkable. The action moves well, but predictably.
“When one burns one’s boats, what a very nice fire it makes.” (11)
“Our aim for ever must be the pursuit of the knowledge of Man in his entirety. To study the flesh, the skin, the bones, the organs, the nerves of Man, is to equip our minds with a knowledge that will enable us to search beyond the body. The noble profession at whose threshold you stand as neophytes is not an end in itself. The science of Anatomy contributes to the great sum of all Knowledge, which is the Truth: the whole Truth of the Life of Man upon this turning earth. And so: Observe precisely. Record exactly. Neglect nothing. Fear no foe. Never swerve from your purpose. Pay no heed to Safety.
For I believe that all men can be happy and that the good life can be led upon this earth.
I believe that all men must work towards that end.
And I believe that that end justifies any means….
Let no scruples stand in the way of the progress of medical science!” (13)
“I do not need any friends. I prefer enemies. They are better company and their feelings towards you are always genuine. No, it is only that some overweening and underbred women, the wives and tormentors of unlucky doctors, have contrived to tell Annabella that they would not accept our invitation to dinner.” (20)
The exceptional points of this period drama are the brilliant language of Dr. Rock himself, and the psychological analysis of his motives. The rest of the drama is really a retelling of actual events (Dr. Knox), and in my opinion is less remarkable. The action moves well, but predictably.
November 10, 2014
This screenplay reads surprisingly similar to a novel at times. From the first moment I started reading I was struck by the descriptive prose and the witty dialogue. I suppose there is only so much wit Dylan Thomas could have put into the screenplay considering the subject matter, though he did succeed quite well considering the circumstances. The screenplay is about a charismatic doctor who teaches anatomy and is at the forefront of his field. The reason for this is his easy access to dead bodies as supplied by two men who begin as grave robbers but eventually resort to killing people just so they can sell the bodies to the doctor. I feel like the story got repetitive at times. There are only so many scenes we need of Fallon and Nelly either digging up dead bodies or killing someone. I still had a good time reading it , but even though I feel like a lot of the screenplay could have been excised, I suggest you read it as well because the book overall is still short enough to be a rather low-risk gamble. Maybe you'll like it?
November 21, 2016
I've seen a comedy (black comedy) version of this basic story, but Dylan Thomas' screenplay is not comedic. I'm not sure how I feel about the doctor, for he said that all things were allowed in pursuit of the knowledge of anatomy that he needed to obtain. His goal was to save lives by improving medical knowledge, but because of the laws of the time, the rules didn't allow for the materials (corpses) he needed. I guess this story could be read as an indictment of the political process, but the affect on the individual people is really the focus. That makes this, at times, a troubling screenplay to read.
Reading a screenplay is difficult to me: I always want to buzz through the scene setting and get to the dialogue.
Reading a screenplay is difficult to me: I always want to buzz through the scene setting and get to the dialogue.
February 21, 2021
The Doctor and the Devils is a screenplay that deals with death. And "statements on the way to the grave " is how Dylan Thomas described his poetry. It is a incursion into the depths of life, the business of grave-robbing, that is so low as to suggest the possibility of killing the living to provide a supply of corpses. What moved these people to do this? There was a medical need in the era that the play is set so that is a primary possibility. I am not sure what is so fascinating about this dark story, but Dylan Thomas based this drama on real life and it shows - I found the drama both engaging and poetic.
March 4, 2012
A surprisingly wonderful and impressive book. It's actually a screenplay, but the instructions for it are written in such a winning, pleasant way that it makes for an enjoyable book overall, I think. The story, of a doctor who needs bodies for his studies in anatomy, and a few poor and unscrupulous individuals who become his suppliers, actually got to me on a level that I really didn't expect it to. It's kind of an intense read, though a very good on.
More detail on the blog.
More detail on the blog.
November 30, 2014
A film script based on the true story of Burke and Hare the 19th century Edinburgh body snatchers. The story follws the escalation from body snatching to murder and the sale of the cadavers to anatomical research as a result of a law which forbade the use of all corpses for medical research except the bodies of hanged criminals... Very graphic.
October 23, 2025
Sadly, the only reason to read this book is because Dylan Thomas wrote it. The writing occasionally shows his lyrical genius but not often enough to make reading The Doctor and the Devils worth the effort.
September 21, 2007
The Doctor and the Devils is just a really unique, really well done script, I think. I don't know why it hasn't gotten more critical acclaim.
February 22, 2009
I'm paraphrasing, but the best quote of the play is:
Above the gates of hell it does not say "Abandon all hope ye who enter here." It says "I told you so."
Above the gates of hell it does not say "Abandon all hope ye who enter here." It says "I told you so."
November 20, 2009
While DT is definitely better at poetry, these plays are also enjoyable - especially when he indulges in a little poetic license.
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May 1, 2011different cover and different title
c 1964
ziegler
The Doctor and the Devils
Time Life
c 1964
ziegler
The Doctor and the Devils
Time Life
October 13, 2021
It's easy to turn a blind eye to the ethics of procurement when it benefits you. Especially when you convince yourself the ends justifies the means.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews