Oh, Doctor!

by Harry Leon Wilson

From infancy Rufus Billop has been told by hypochondriac relatives that he is delicate and prone to illness. Now in his twenties, he takes a dozen different medications a day, hides from the sun, and is convinced that he is dying. But he doesn't have enough money to hire the private nurse he is sure he needs, and won't come into his $600,000 trust fund until his 18-year-old cousin is a legal adult. A mutual friend convinces three investors to put up $100,000 against the expected funds, to be forfeited if Rufus dies within three years. The young invalid gets the caretaker he has hoped for...but beautiful Miss Hicks proves to be the stimulus he needs to get up, get out in the world, and make something of his life.

Genres: Fiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1923

About the author

Editor of the humor magazine Puck 1896-1902.

Reviews

[Arthur Pierce · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had read two Harry Leon Wilson novels prior to this (RUGGLES OF RED GAP and MERTON OF THE MOVIES) and liked them both, so I was looking forward to OH, DOCTOR! But I found it to be very slight, an engaging enough idea, but not one that could be stretched to almost 400 pages. And, while this is a light novel, it's not exactly comical, nor does it try to be. The main characters are not especially interesting nor sympathetic, and I found that the story never quite "took off."

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A humorous story of a hypochondriac from the early 1920's and how he struggled with life.