A.J. Cronin: The Man Who Created Dr Finlay

A.J. Cronin, author of some of the best-loved novels of the mid-twentieth century and the creator of Dr Finlay, has been unjustly overlooked by literary biographers. In this, the first fulllength life of this eminent and unjustly neglected writer, Alan Davies recounts the story of Cronins Scottish childhood as the son of a Protestant mother and Catholic father, his subsequent medical career and his rise to literary prominence, emphasizing throughout the importance of holding at arms length many of the apocryphal tales that have accumulated around the memory of the author of Hatters Castle, The Citadel and The Stars Look Down, many of which are based on mistaken autobiographical readings of Cronins fiction itself. Incorporating an account of Cronins tempestuous relationship with his publisher, Victor Gollancz, and new revelations about the authors private life, Daviess book paints a clearer portrait of both Cronin the writer and Cronin the man. See more