It is July 1936 in Dublin, and Fingal O'Reilly has just graduated from
medical school landing a job in the tenements of Dublin. It is exactly
where he wants to be a doctor. He is immediately dropped in the deep
end upon his arrival by Doctor Phelim Corrigan. Fingal is suspicious of
Corrigan's methods, but everyone sings his praises. Following his
interview with Corrigan, Fingal's mind is changed.
Fingal is able
to convince his classmate, Charlie Greer, to join him in the practice
with Doctor Corrigan. That would ease the workload. Unfortunately it
is at this time that Fingal's father passes away,
Working
conditions were different then; one of the surgeries Fingal is involved
in was done at the home of the patient. This is the same era as Hitler,
Mussolini and the Spanish Civil War. Fingal's girlfriend, Kitty, is
concerned about all the orphaned children in Spain as a result of
Franco's policies. Although Fingal learns a lot working in the
tenements of Dublin, how long will his job last when its funding comes
from the Irish Sweepstakes and Britain has outlawed its sales there? Can he maintain the love of Kitty when he is so very busy?
Throughout
the novel, author Patrick Taylor, intersperses Fingal's story of 1936
with his current situation of 1965 when he was bringing a young woman,
Doctor Jenny Bradley, into the practice. It was not easy for a woman at
that time to be accepted as a doctor, but she was slowly impressing the
locals. Will Fingal be able to keep her involved in the practice?
Taylor's
story telling is both informative and amusing. You can tell that he
enjoys telling a story, leaving the reader with a smile on their face. I
highly recommend the series.
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