The Citadel by A. J. Cronin (1937)

Review by Sylvia D: The Citadel is a powerful attack on the medical system in this country before the inception of the National Health Service in 1948. The vehicle for this attack is the career of Scotsman, Andrew Manson, who starts out as a newly qualified doctor’s assistant in the 1920s in the drab South Wales … Continue reading →

The Stars Look Down by A J Cronin (1935)

Review by Helen N: This book if expressed simplistically might be expressed in the words of the old Music Hall song – It’s the same the whole world over… It’s the Poor what gets the blame but it is much more than this. It lays bare the poverty and danger of the lives of miners … Continue reading →

Three Loves by A J Cronin (1932)

Our reading groups started again in September after an August break, and the first novelist to report back on is A J Cronin. Archibald Joseph Cronin (1896 – 1981) was born in Scotland, and trained as a doctor at the University of Glasgow. He  served as a surgeon with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during … Continue reading →

Chatterton Square by E. H. Young (1947)

Review by Thecla: This is the story of two contrasting families, the Blacketts and the Frasers, who live in adjacent houses in Chatterton Square, Upper Radstowe (Bristol). The Blackett family consists of Herbert and Bertha and their three daughters Flora, Rhoda and Mary; the Fraser family of Rosamund and her children James, Felix, Chloe, Sandra … Continue reading →