The Life and Times of a Victorian Country Doctor : A Portrait of Reginald Grove: Volume 3 : Life as a Medical Man

This is the third of a biographical trilogy of Reginald Grove who, within weeks of becoming qualified, was catapulted into running his fathers medical practice in 1894.

His career spanned a period of immense change in medical practice ranging from house calls on horseback to carrying out surgical operations on the kitchen tables of his patients.

But its also a love story between Reginald and Hilda described in over 500 letters that they wrote to each other during their courtship and marriage.

All the worlds a stage - and across Reginalds stage flitted a cavalcade of colourful characters. 

Fraudsters like Sequah, a Yorkshireman, who posed as Native American, to sell  bottles of the elixir of life with his Wild West entertainment show. Tyndale-Biscoe, a young curate, attacked by a mob in Londons East End which thought he was Jack the Ripper. Rob Tattersall, a musical hall ventriloquist, who used life sized dolls for his end of the pier performances. Gustave Kunne who murdered his lover and then committed suicide as she lay beside him. And Major Herbert Armstrong, the only solicitor in England ever to be hanged for murder. These, and many others, form the backdrop of Reginalds life in the Victorian and Edwardian periods.

He made a distinctive mark on the life of his community and was remembered at his death by his patients with great affection and respect as a reassuring family doctor who knew each of them personally.

***

Revd Jonathan Aitken, Prison Chaplain, former MP and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, author of John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace, and many other publications.

Reginald sounds a most interesting and impressive figure and I congratulate you on having done so much research in order to create a literary and historical portrait of his life. 

***

Dr Gareth Tuckwell, Vice President, Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care, former General Practitioner, Chairman of Sanctuary Care Boards, Chairman ME Trust and joint author of 'Talking about Dying', and 'A Question of Healing.

This is a remarkable book and a timely publication when so many people today long for a doctor who knows them well. Reginald made personal friends of his patients and knew their past history and domestic troubles. He always emphasised the fact that doctors have to deal with human beings, with their body, mind, spirit and emotions affecting every aspect of their wellbeing.