A. J. CRONIN SERIES:

Adventures of a Black Bag

Adventures of a Black Bag

A. J. Cronin

Nonfiction / Literature & Fiction

Over the course of six episodes, the early years of Dr. Finlay are explored, as he gets to grips with the locals in the Scottish Highland town of Levenford. But the new doctor is full of surprises; caring, stub-born, idealistic and clever, but he proves to be more than a match for the local residents. His patients range from the stingiest and most cunning widow in Scotland to a pantomime actress, and from a hen-pecked husband, to the Scobie sisters, who have managed to live together for fifteen years without speaking.
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The Quest of the Legend (Dark Legacy Book 1)

The Quest of the Legend (Dark Legacy Book 1)

A. J. Cronin

Nonfiction / Literature & Fiction

After a grave betrayal, a young Princess is sent on a quest to search for a figure of mythic status: The Black Knight. Hailed by some as a hero, by others he is seen as evil incarnate, but the truth is more complex than any could imagine. This young Princess finds herself embroiled in a conflict she thought impossible, entering the front lines of a war fought between the veil of life and death.
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Vigil in the Night

Vigil in the Night

A. J. Cronin

Nonfiction / Literature & Fiction

Vigil in the Night represents something of an event for fans of A. J. Cronin. Here, published for the first time in book form, is his poignant and moving tale of two nurses—of Anne, who devoted herself to serving others, and of her younger sister, Lucy, who meant to get everything in life for herself. When Lucy’s negligence causes the tragic death of a young patient, Anne takes the blame to protect her young sister—an act that threatens to destroy the brilliant nursing career that lies before her. But then Anne meets an idealistic young surgeon who takes an interest in her, and although one of the oldest and most honored traditions of the medical profession is that the relationship between doctors and nurses remain strictly impersonal, doctors and nurses are, after all, human beings—and sometimes that tradition breaks down.
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Grand Canary

Grand Canary

A. J. Cronin

Nonfiction / Literature & Fiction

Grand Canary is a novel by author A. J. Cronin, initially published in 1933. It tells the story of Dr. Harvey Leith, an English physician who is wrongfully blamed for the deaths of three patients and leaves his country in disgrace, ultimately finding redemption when thrust into the middle of a yellow fever epidemic in the Canary Islands.
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Crusader's Tomb

Crusader's Tomb

A. J. Cronin

Nonfiction / Literature & Fiction

The story of Stephen Desmonde, an English painter who struggles for recognition in a conventional world, sacrificing everything for his passion for art. The title is a reference to John Keats' 1818 poem, Endymion, which begins, "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever."
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The Keys of the Kingdom

The Keys of the Kingdom

A. J. Cronin

Nonfiction / Literature & Fiction

Francis Chisholm is a compassionate and humble priest whose individuality and directness make him unpopular with other clergy. Considered a failure by his superiors, he is sent to China to maintain a mission amid desperate poverty, civil war, plague, and the hostility of his superiors. In the face of this constant danger and hardship, Father Chisholm finds the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Recognized as A. J. Cronin’s best novel, The Keys of the Kingdom is an enthralling, fast-moving, colorful tale of a deeply spiritual man called to do good in an imperfect world.
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The Stars Look Down

The Stars Look Down

A. J. Cronin

Nonfiction / Literature & Fiction

The Stars Look Down was A.J. Cronin's fourth novel, published in 1935, and this tale of a North country mining family was a great favourite with his readers. Robert Fenwick is a miner, and so are his three sons. His wife is proud that all her four men go down the mines. But David, the youngest, is determined that somehow he will educate himself and work to ameliorate the lives of his comrades who ruin their health to dig the nation's coal. It is, perhaps, a typical tale of the era in which it was written --there were many novels about coal mining, But Cronin, a doctor turned author, had a gift for storytelling, and in his time wrote several very popular and successful novels.
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The Stars Look Down

The Stars Look Down

A. J. Cronin

Nonfiction / Literature & Fiction

First published in 1935, The Stars Look Down tells the story of a North Country mining community as its inhabitants make their way through the various social and political challenges of the early 20th century. Digging into workers' rights, social change, and the relationship between labor and capitalism, the struggles of the novel's trifecta of protagonists—politically minded miner David Fenwick, ambitious drifter Joe Gowlan, and frustrated yet meek mining-baron's son Arthur Barras—remain compelling and relevant to readers in the 21st century.The Stars Look Down is one of many tales of the hardships of coal-mining communities during the industrial pre-war, World War I, and interwar periods in Britain, but stands out for its unflinching prose, universal themes, and keen storytelling. The novel was adapted into a 1940 film starring Michael Redgrave as Davey Fenwick, is a New York Times Critics' Pick, and is included in The New York Times Guide to...
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The Spanish Gardener

The Spanish Gardener

A. J. Cronin

Nonfiction / Literature & Fiction

When Mr Harrington Brande moves himself and his precious young son Nicholas to a grand house in the deserted Spanish town of San Jorge he is planning on a fresh start for the two of them. And only the two of them. For Mr Harrington Brande is a proud man and a jealous man. His beloved wife has recently fled his stifling love and now Brande has transferred all of his adoration onto Nicholas. He monitors his son's every move and is obsessed with ensuring that the bond between them is stronger than ever. But history begins to repeat itself when Nicholas befriends the gardener José. José is like no one Nicholas has ever met before and he instantly holds him in high regard. Brande does not take too kindly to having to vie for his son's attention with the Spanish gardener, and becomes increasingly suspicious of his rival. Encouraged by his butler, Garcia, Brande becomes convinced that José is not the person he pretends to be. Blinded by love...
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