Book Stack

Archibald Joseph Cronin (born in 19 July 1896 – died in 6 January 1981) was a Scottish novelist and physician. His best-known novel was The Citadel, about a doctor in a Welsh mining village who quickly moves up the career ladder in London. Cronin had observed this scene closely as a Medical Inspector of Mines and later as a doctor in Harley Street. This book promoted controversial new ideas about medical ethics which largely inspired the launch of the National Health Service. Another popular mining novel, set in the North East of England, was The Stars Look Down. Both these novels were adapted for film, as were Hatter's Castle, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years. His novella Country Doctor was adapted for a long-running BBC radio and TV series Dr. Finlay's Casebook, revived many years later.

He composed Hatter's Castle in the span of three months, and the manuscript was quickly accepted by Gollancz, the only publishing house to which it had been submitted. This novel, which was an immediate and sensational success, launched his career as a prolific author, and he never returned to practising medicine.

Many of Cronin's books were bestsellers in their day and were translated into many languages. His strengths included his compelling narrative skill and his powers of acute observation and graphic description. Although known for its deep social conscience and humanism, his work is filled with colourful characters and witty dialogue. Some of his stories draw on his medical career, dramatically mixing realism, romance, and social criticism. Cronin's works examine moral conflicts between the individual and society as his idealistic heroes pursue justice for the common man. One of his early novels, The Stars Look Down (1935), chronicles transgressions in a mining community in Northeast England and an ambitious miner's rise to be a Member of Parliament.

Excerpt from Wikipedia

Novels

1. Hatter's Castle
2. Three Loves
3. Grand Canary
4. The Stars Look Down
5. The Citadel
6. Enchanted Snow
7. The Keys of the Kingdom
8. The Green Years
9. Shannon's Way
10. The Spanish Gardener
11. Beyond This Place
12. A Thing of Beauty
13. The Northern Light
14. The Cronin Omnibus
15. The Native Doctor
16. The Judas Tree
17. A Song of Sixpence
18. A Pocketful of Rye
19. Desmonde
20. Lady with Carnations
21. Gracie Lindsay