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2022 Buddy Read: Scottish Authors

Yes Tracey, The Citadel is our buddy read for May.




John did post at one time that the group would read The Citadel in May. I do know that I will ..."
Brian, South Riding looks good. I'll be interested to read your review.

It does look good. I'll post my review in the "What Classic Are You Reading Now" thread so I don't wear out my welcome in John's Scottish authors thread. In case I might have confused anybody, I should clarify that Winifred Holtby is not a Scottish author. I mentioned her Yorkshire-set book South Riding on here to explain why I wouldn't be starting The Citadel right at the beginning of May and because member Tracey is a Yorkshire lass.

I love his poetry; the rhythms and language are so reminiscent of Orkney that no matter where I'm reading them, I'm in the flag-stoned streets of Stromness, or by the Dwarfie Stane on Hoy.



For his fifth book, Dr. Cronin drew on his experiences practising medicine in the coal-mining communities of the South Wales Valleys, as he had for The Stars Look Down two years earlier. Specifically, he had researched and reported on the correlation between coal dust inhalation and lung disease in the town of Tredegar. He had also worked as a doctor for the Tredegar Medical Aid Society at the Cottage Hospital, which served as the model for the National Health Service.
Cronin once stated in an interview, "I have written in The Citadel all I feel about the medical profession, its injustices, its hide-bound unscientific stubbornness, its humbug ... The horrors and inequities detailed in the story I have personally witnessed. This is not an attack against individuals, but against a system."
The novel is of interest because of its portrayal of a voluntary contribution medical association which is based (not entirely uncritically) on the Tredegar Medical Aid Society for which Cronin worked for a time in the 1920s, and which in due course became the inspiration for the National Health Service as established under Aneurin Bevan.
The Citadel was extremely popular in translation, being sold in book shops in the Third Reich as late as 1944. The scholar and Holocaust survivor Victor Klemperer noted, "English novels are banned of course; but there are books by A.J. Cronin in every shop window: he’s Scottish and exposes shortcomings of social and public services in England." After the Second World War, it proved popular in Communist bloc countries as well, where Cronin was one of the few contemporary British authors to be published.
Born in Cardross, Scotland, Cronin studied at the University of Glasgow. In 1917 he served as a surgeon sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteers Reserve, and at the war's end he completed his medical studies and practiced in South Wales. He was later appointed to the Ministry of Mines, studying the medical problems of the mining industry. He later moved to London and built up a successful practice in the West End. In 1931 he published his first book, Hatter's Castle, which was compared with the work of Dickens, Hardy and Balzac, winning him critical acclaim. Other books by A. J. Cronin include: Three Loves, The Green Years, Beyond This Place, The Keys of the Kingdom. A novelist, dramatist, and non-fiction writer, he was one of the most renowned storytellers of the twentieth century. His best-known works are The Citadel and The Keys of the Kingdom, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films. He also created the Dr Finlay character, the hero of a series of stories that served as the basis for the long-running BBC television and radio series entitled Dr Finlay's Casebook.
(Summarised from Goodreads and Wiki).

This collection, published in 1969 isn't even listed on Goodreads, nor is "Ronald Eadie Munro". (Although he is listed under his real name of Duncan Glen, and his entry in the Scottish Poetry Library reads "Duncan Glen, editor of Akros for 40 years, was a printer, typographer, designer, artist, editor, publisher, essayist, scholar and poet."
The title is from an old Scots word meaning "to make visible" - and his use of Scots in a number of the poems in this volume may be challenging!

I enjoyed it, and I might go back to it again at some point, but I'll try to read some of his other work first, as he wrote in both Scots and English.


John, she also wrote some science fiction: The Long Way Back and The Furious Masters.
If there was a biography written about her, I am definitely reading it. According to Wikipedia, she served in the Spanish Civil War as a nurse, translator and broadcaster. During her war nursing work, she broke her arm when her truck overturned, and she was shot in both legs. She also met her husband during the war.


I'm delighted you enjoyed it Trisha - any plans to read more from Cronin?

You're welcome Tracey, I'm grateful to Brian for prompting us to read this one (and I just wish the library would hurry up with my copy!)

That's fascinating Melanie - I'd never heard of her, but I now plan to read one of her books this year. I had a quick search around for information on her, but you summed up what's available. The Marx Memorial Library in London holds the archives of the International Brigades and the women who volunteered for service in the Spanish Civil War. I think I'll ask if they know of any archives they hold relating to her, and maybe follow up with a visit to the the library.

I'm delighted you enjoyed it Trisha - any plans to read more..."
I will probably read more of his books. I read some of them many years ago, though don’t remember any details.
Tracey, I thought the most interesting part of the book was set in Wales - I liked the descriptions & the characters.

I thought the scene where Dr, Manson meets the school teacher was well done and quite cinematic.


That would destroy my appetite!!
Google for images of Kisimul castle in Castlebay on Barra, the home of clan MacNeil. In the 18th century it was the custom to sound the trumpet on the ramparts of Kisimul Castle, followed by the call, “Hear ye hear ye, the great MacNeil having eaten, the princes of the earth may now dine”.
I finished part 2 of The Citadel as well. I'm very much enjoying it and hope the rest will be equally interesting. Doctor Manson is quite a character!
I'm now in the middle of part 4 of The Citadel and really not liking this part. Andrew is becoming such a jerk-to put it bluntly. I really liked parts 1, 2 and the very short part 3.
Rosemarie wrote: "I'm now in the middle of part 4 of The Citadel and really not liking this part. Andrew is becoming such a jerk-to put it bluntly. I really liked parts 1, 2 and the very short part 3."
This is sad news, Rosemarie. I just finished part 3 and enjoyed it as well. When the final part crumbles down, it affects the overall outlook of the book. :(
This is sad news, Rosemarie. I just finished part 3 and enjoyed it as well. When the final part crumbles down, it affects the overall outlook of the book. :(
I'm hoping that Andrew sees the light. In the chapter I just finished, I see a real glimmer of hope that the old Andrew will make a come back. So I'm hoping that will be the case, because on the whole he's been a worthwhile character. My favourite character is his wife.
I've finished the book, Piyangie, and it does get much better and finishes with a bang. I'm giving it 4 stars, which means I really liked it.
The last line also partially explains the title with a visual image.
I'm so glad I read it, but my favourite book by this author is still The Stars Look Down.
The last line also partially explains the title with a visual image.
I'm so glad I read it, but my favourite book by this author is still The Stars Look Down.
Rosemarie wrote: "I've finished the book, Piyangie, and it does get much better and finishes with a bang. I'm giving it 4 stars, which means I really liked it.
The last line also partially explains the title with a ..."
That's quite a relief, Rosemarie. I didn't start the final part yet. My enthusiasm was a little dampened. :) Now I'm looking forward to starting it. I might also buy the kindle of the book you mentioned. It sounds interesting.
The last line also partially explains the title with a ..."
That's quite a relief, Rosemarie. I didn't start the final part yet. My enthusiasm was a little dampened. :) Now I'm looking forward to starting it. I might also buy the kindle of the book you mentioned. It sounds interesting.
Rosemarie wrote: "You'll find out my Andrew annoyed me for a while, but it was only for a while."
I'm beginning to understand, Rosemarie. :) I'm glad to know it won't last. I also like Christine and wish Cronin had injected a little more character to her. What did you think of Freddie Hamson? I dislike him.
I'm beginning to understand, Rosemarie. :) I'm glad to know it won't last. I also like Christine and wish Cronin had injected a little more character to her. What did you think of Freddie Hamson? I dislike him.

When I first read this post I was a bit confused because I thought the whole book was set in Wales. Now that I've finished I would have to agree with this comment, although a story entirely in Wales would likely have had a totally different story arc as Manson would not have run into the type of doctors and medical establishment he encounters in London that was essential to the arc of Manson's story as told here.
I can tell this book is an older classic as there probably aren't any books being written since 1969 where the hero's family could be referred to as the Manson family
Just finished reading The Citadel. What a book! I really enjoyed it.
Rosemarie, you're right about the final part. I felt that down and up path of Andrew made him more human. Overall, I liked his character and his Scottish spirit despite some of his unforgivable blunders. I didn’t expect the tragedy, and that shook me a little. But the final twist helped me recover. :)
Rosemarie, you're right about the final part. I felt that down and up path of Andrew made him more human. Overall, I liked his character and his Scottish spirit despite some of his unforgivable blunders. I didn’t expect the tragedy, and that shook me a little. But the final twist helped me recover. :)
Rosemarie wrote: "Those last few chapters were really tense!"
I know! I found those chapters to be quite exhausting, but pleasantly so.
I know! I found those chapters to be quite exhausting, but pleasantly so.


"Despite these similarities in plot, Cronin is an adept storyteller and astute social commentator. He shies away from few topics, medical, moral, or spiritual, and he has few literary and technical weaknesses. It is his own life story which seems to grant him so much insight into the modern man: his characters seem to mimic his own spiritual journey. The loss and regaining of faith informs all of his novels."
"Reading Cronin is like standing in a dark tunnel with nowhere to go while a speeding locomotive comes screaming towards you—you know something bad is going to happen, you just don’t know when and how."
Books mentioned in this topic
A Far Cry from Kensington (other topics)The Citadel (other topics)
Sunset Song (other topics)
A Far Cry from Kensington (other topics)
Miss Buncle Married (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Muriel Spark (other topics)A.J. Cronin (other topics)
Muriel Spark (other topics)
George MacDonald (other topics)
Margot Bennett (other topics)
More...
John did post at one time that the group would read The Citadel in May. I do know that I will be reading it, probably starting about May 8th or so.
This will be after I start and finish reading South Riding, which looks to be more of a tome than I anticipated. (I watched the TV miniseries of it, but long enough ago to forget the specifics). Tracey, I've read your review of it as I often look to you whenever I read a Yorkshire-set novel.