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Round The Red Lamp
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1894
45 people are currently reading
388 people want to read
About the author
Arthur Conan Doyle
15.4k books24.1k followersSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 13, 2013
I know Conan Doyle almost entirely from Sherlock Holmes and Professor Challenger. I like those stories a lot, and I downloaded some other books to try when I had a free moment.
Round the Red Lamp is a collection of loosely medical themed stories - mostly about doctors in one way or another. One or two falls in science fiction or adventure category, but most are straightforward fiction.
I was surprised by how good these stories are. Sherlock Holmes is fun, but the stories are usually more clever than touching. The closest we usually get to emotion there is perhaps Irene Adler in "A Scandal in Bohemia", or Dr. Watson's expostulations (and background romance). Here, we have something completely different. While I like the more fantastic stories toward the end of the book, it's the stories that open the book that really hit home. They're small, but intensely moving. After reading this set, it's clear that I have not given Conan Doyle enough credit for writing skill. While not all of the stories here are excellent, they're all good, and mostly very good. I'll definitely be looking for more of his non-adventure work.
Overall, a surprising and very welcome look at Conan Doyle's more literary side. If you're a fan, pick this up. If you're just looking for touching stories, pick this up. If you like stories about doctors, pick this up. It's free, and you won't be sorry. Strongly recommended.
Round the Red Lamp is a collection of loosely medical themed stories - mostly about doctors in one way or another. One or two falls in science fiction or adventure category, but most are straightforward fiction.
I was surprised by how good these stories are. Sherlock Holmes is fun, but the stories are usually more clever than touching. The closest we usually get to emotion there is perhaps Irene Adler in "A Scandal in Bohemia", or Dr. Watson's expostulations (and background romance). Here, we have something completely different. While I like the more fantastic stories toward the end of the book, it's the stories that open the book that really hit home. They're small, but intensely moving. After reading this set, it's clear that I have not given Conan Doyle enough credit for writing skill. While not all of the stories here are excellent, they're all good, and mostly very good. I'll definitely be looking for more of his non-adventure work.
Overall, a surprising and very welcome look at Conan Doyle's more literary side. If you're a fan, pick this up. If you're just looking for touching stories, pick this up. If you like stories about doctors, pick this up. It's free, and you won't be sorry. Strongly recommended.
September 28, 2012
I read the text of this book from Project Gutenberg. There seems to be a newer reprint that includes commentary and some other medical fiction and non-fiction by Conan Doyle -- I would be very interested to read that, but I'm not reviewing it here.
I hadn't read anything by ACD before this except the Sherlock Holmes stories and The Lost World. However, Russell Miller's biography of Conan Doyle made me interested in one of the stories, "The Doctors of Hoyland," and I ended up reading the whole collection. It has great personal appeal to me because I love shop talk and fiction that draws upon the author's professional knowledge.
I was also charmed by the preface, which seems to be written to the critics whom Conan Doyle correctly predicted would be disgusted by some of the medical details in the stories, and which acts as a sort of Victorian trigger warning. It explains why those gory details can be important to literature, and ends by saying that Conan Doyle had deliberately not published the stories in magazines lest anyone read them by mistake and be pained, but "in book-form the reader can see that they are medical stories, and can, if he or she be so minded, avoid them."
Behind the Times: A sweet reflection on an old doctor, by a young doctor who as a child was the old doctor's patient. The young doctor doesn't give his own name, so when at the very end he says something about his housekeeper Mrs. Hudson, I naturally concluded that this is a secret non-Holmes non-mystery story belonging to Dr. Watson!
His First Operation: This is one of the ones to avoid if you're squeamish, as it's a very effective description of the squeamishness of a medical student about to witness surgery for the first time. However, it's also very funny!
A Straggler of '15: That is, the battle of Waterloo in 1815. The story is set in 1881 and the straggler is the last surviving veteran of his regiment. It's about how dying of old age is a miserable experience. The veteran has a good young relative to take care of him and is cheered up by visiting soldiers who look up to him. I think that in the hands of many other authors, these facts would have turned the story into a sentimental reflection on how paying attention to elderly people makes their lives happy, but Conan Doyle avoids this. It's not a sentimental or cheering story, but it felt right to me.
The Third Generation: An awkward story about a young man's sad discovery that he has congenital syphilis.
A False Start: I know from Russell Miller's biography that this funny story is based on Conan Doyle's own mishaps in setting up his first practice and hoping that patients will show up. The first one to knock on the door turns out not to be a patient at all, but a bill collector...
The Curse of Eve: Which is painful childbirth. This story observes an ordinary man whose wife is having a baby. It is less grim than "A Straggler of '15" but still, I think, avoids sentimentality (though somewhat narrowly at points).
Sweethearts: Another story about aging -- this one distinctly sentimental.
A Physiologist's Wife: This story isn't about practicing medicine, but about the personality of one of its characters, a medical researcher. He is excessively scientific about everything, which is played for laughs but is also his fatal flaw, as the story is about his romance.
The Case of Lady Sannox: A crime story in which one of the parties is a doctor. This one has another gruesome passage which people who skipped "His First Operation" should also avoid.
A Question of Diplomacy: Wherein a diplomat's wife enacts a sneaky plan with the unwitting assistance of the family's doctor. This story is funny, but a bit irritating in light of Conan Doyle's views on women's suffrage -- it reads as a smug confirmation that men use their brains for national politics and women use their equally good brains for family politics, and that's all for the best.
A Medical Document: Not a story but a series of anecdotes structured as a conversation among doctors, with some commentary on how medical shop talk can be very interesting.
Lot No. 249: I hated this story but wouldn't be surprised to know it was the most popular of the collection. It's not medical at all; the protagonist is a medical student, but that doesn't really matter, as he doesn't use much medical skill in discovering that one of his fellow students (an Orientalist, of course) is using evil "Eastern" magic on his sinister collection of "Eastern" artifacts. Bleargh.
The Los Amigos Fiasco: Weakly amusing, but again not a medical story -- it's just bad science fiction. The doctor in a town in the U.S. West narrates the discovery that more electricity is not necessarily more effective. Generally I would agree with this principle, but in this case the use of the electricity is in an electric chair execution... to publish this story here seems to draw unnecessary attention to its embarrassingly bad biology.
The Doctors of Hoyland: The new doctor of Hoyland is -- a woman!! This is the story of how the original doctor of Hoyland got over his disapproval. It is very funny at the sexist doctor's expense, but careful reading indicates certain limits on the acceptability of women doctors.
The Surgeon Talks: Some final thoughts on what doctors learn about human nature.
I hadn't read anything by ACD before this except the Sherlock Holmes stories and The Lost World. However, Russell Miller's biography of Conan Doyle made me interested in one of the stories, "The Doctors of Hoyland," and I ended up reading the whole collection. It has great personal appeal to me because I love shop talk and fiction that draws upon the author's professional knowledge.
I was also charmed by the preface, which seems to be written to the critics whom Conan Doyle correctly predicted would be disgusted by some of the medical details in the stories, and which acts as a sort of Victorian trigger warning. It explains why those gory details can be important to literature, and ends by saying that Conan Doyle had deliberately not published the stories in magazines lest anyone read them by mistake and be pained, but "in book-form the reader can see that they are medical stories, and can, if he or she be so minded, avoid them."
Behind the Times: A sweet reflection on an old doctor, by a young doctor who as a child was the old doctor's patient. The young doctor doesn't give his own name, so when at the very end he says something about his housekeeper Mrs. Hudson, I naturally concluded that this is a secret non-Holmes non-mystery story belonging to Dr. Watson!
His First Operation: This is one of the ones to avoid if you're squeamish, as it's a very effective description of the squeamishness of a medical student about to witness surgery for the first time. However, it's also very funny!
A Straggler of '15: That is, the battle of Waterloo in 1815. The story is set in 1881 and the straggler is the last surviving veteran of his regiment. It's about how dying of old age is a miserable experience. The veteran has a good young relative to take care of him and is cheered up by visiting soldiers who look up to him. I think that in the hands of many other authors, these facts would have turned the story into a sentimental reflection on how paying attention to elderly people makes their lives happy, but Conan Doyle avoids this. It's not a sentimental or cheering story, but it felt right to me.
The Third Generation: An awkward story about a young man's sad discovery that he has congenital syphilis.
A False Start: I know from Russell Miller's biography that this funny story is based on Conan Doyle's own mishaps in setting up his first practice and hoping that patients will show up. The first one to knock on the door turns out not to be a patient at all, but a bill collector...
The Curse of Eve: Which is painful childbirth. This story observes an ordinary man whose wife is having a baby. It is less grim than "A Straggler of '15" but still, I think, avoids sentimentality (though somewhat narrowly at points).
Sweethearts: Another story about aging -- this one distinctly sentimental.
A Physiologist's Wife: This story isn't about practicing medicine, but about the personality of one of its characters, a medical researcher. He is excessively scientific about everything, which is played for laughs but is also his fatal flaw, as the story is about his romance.
The Case of Lady Sannox: A crime story in which one of the parties is a doctor. This one has another gruesome passage which people who skipped "His First Operation" should also avoid.
A Question of Diplomacy: Wherein a diplomat's wife enacts a sneaky plan with the unwitting assistance of the family's doctor. This story is funny, but a bit irritating in light of Conan Doyle's views on women's suffrage -- it reads as a smug confirmation that men use their brains for national politics and women use their equally good brains for family politics, and that's all for the best.
A Medical Document: Not a story but a series of anecdotes structured as a conversation among doctors, with some commentary on how medical shop talk can be very interesting.
Lot No. 249: I hated this story but wouldn't be surprised to know it was the most popular of the collection. It's not medical at all; the protagonist is a medical student, but that doesn't really matter, as he doesn't use much medical skill in discovering that one of his fellow students (an Orientalist, of course) is using evil "Eastern" magic on his sinister collection of "Eastern" artifacts. Bleargh.
The Los Amigos Fiasco: Weakly amusing, but again not a medical story -- it's just bad science fiction. The doctor in a town in the U.S. West narrates the discovery that more electricity is not necessarily more effective. Generally I would agree with this principle, but in this case the use of the electricity is in an electric chair execution... to publish this story here seems to draw unnecessary attention to its embarrassingly bad biology.
The Doctors of Hoyland: The new doctor of Hoyland is -- a woman!! This is the story of how the original doctor of Hoyland got over his disapproval. It is very funny at the sexist doctor's expense, but careful reading indicates certain limits on the acceptability of women doctors.
The Surgeon Talks: Some final thoughts on what doctors learn about human nature.
October 22, 2020
Una interesante colección que nos muestra el ejercicio de la medicina a través de su autor, quien fue médico de profesión. Un deleite para aquellos que sienten curiosidad sobre este y otros temas relacionados con la época victoriana.
August 13, 2015
Quattro racconti di Arthur Conan Doyle, senza Sherlock Holmes, e tutt'altro che investigativi o "polizieschi". Quattro racconti sulla grande passione di Conan Doyle, la medicina. Le storie di uomini che cercano di rimanere se stessi e troppe volte vengono investiti dagli eventi esterni.
Si erano preparati, cercavano tutti un modo per governare gli eventi, ma non si è mai pronti. A quanto pare.
Si erano preparati, cercavano tutti un modo per governare gli eventi, ma non si è mai pronti. A quanto pare.
May 12, 2021
Lo compre por su portada, sin saber que seria el escritor de Sherlock Holmes (libros que he querido leer hace rato), definitivamente no decepciono.
Un libro con 15 cuentos independientes entre si (menos el de "La tercera generación" y "Azaroso comienzo" donde el protagonista es la misma persona); así que puedes leerlo en el orden que quieras, lo particular es ver a médicos como protagonistas, de personaje secundario o incluso de terciario; pero siempre hay la presencia del ente de salud.
Arthur tiene un estilo de escribir único y muy descriptivo; posee la habilidad de transpórtate a otro universo con sus palabras a raíz de esto en el cuento de "El lote numero 249" me sorprendió al traer su lado el genero de terror al libro (nada predecible), ya que según me enteré el escritor empezó a creer en el el espiritismo y demás influencias.
Unas historias son increíble, como el mismo dice reales o no, presentan la medicina en toda su faceta; desde los primeros semestres de la carrera "La primera generación", cuando se empieza con el primer trabajo "Azarosos Comienzos", hasta el final que hace una reflexión para aquellos que estudian está carrera "Consideraciones de un Cirujano".
El libro o se lee rápido o lento, eso depende de la historia. Todas tienen su toque peculiar; desde el principio con unas pinceladas machistas hasta las últimas con "los médicos de Hoyland" que se empieza a ver las misma importancia de una mujer en el área. Pero siempre se observa que el amor no triunfa por lo menos para el médico. La rama de la medicina es y será muy importante, destacar su labor de forma jocosa y también sería atrapará a cualquier estudiante o persona que admira si labor. El libro lo cumple a cabalidad habiendo unas historias mejores que otras y muy pocas malas con serie que te dejan un sin sabor.
Resumen de los cuentos por si quieres chismosear alguno:
- De otra época: Cuento sobre como dos médicos modernos le confían su vida a un médico veterano.
- La primera operación: primiparos, que junto con jóvenes de últimos semestres, van a ver una operación.
- Un verano de 1815: la nieta que se encarga de cuidar a su abuelo que estuvo en la guerra (cuento favorito). Médico le dice que le queda poco tiempo.
- La tercera generación: enfermedad que vive y hace morir a au padre. Ahora el posee el mismo mal.
-Azaroso comienzo: un médico que se acaba de graduar y abre su consultorio. (Cuento Favorito)
- La maldición de Eva: una mujer que va dar a luz, el marido nada que encuentra al médico.
- La esposa de un fisiólogo: Dos hermanos solteros, el hermano médico se enamora de una viuda que se le murió el marido.
- El caso de lady sannox: Un médico enamorado de una actriz.
- Cuestión de diplomacia: un ministro enfermo del pie y todos lo esperan para trabaja, pero nada que puedo. Su hija está enferma y se quiere casar, la mamá la ayuda.
- Testimonios Médicos: tres amigos médico que cuentan sus experiencias una mejor o peor de la anterior.
- El lote numero 249: tres medicos en una facultad comparten apartamento, empieza a suceder cosas raras
- El desastre de los amigos: unos electricista, ingenieros, científico querían implantar la pena de muerte. Pero los cálculos no les dia.
- Los médicos de Hoyland: un pueblo pequeño y bastantes médicos, nuestro protagonista se muere por saber quién es el más reconocido y al enterarse que es mujer su machismo lo ciega.
- Consideraciones de un cirujano: mini historias y consejos para futuros médicos.
Un libro con 15 cuentos independientes entre si (menos el de "La tercera generación" y "Azaroso comienzo" donde el protagonista es la misma persona); así que puedes leerlo en el orden que quieras, lo particular es ver a médicos como protagonistas, de personaje secundario o incluso de terciario; pero siempre hay la presencia del ente de salud.
Arthur tiene un estilo de escribir único y muy descriptivo; posee la habilidad de transpórtate a otro universo con sus palabras a raíz de esto en el cuento de "El lote numero 249" me sorprendió al traer su lado el genero de terror al libro (nada predecible), ya que según me enteré el escritor empezó a creer en el el espiritismo y demás influencias.
Unas historias son increíble, como el mismo dice reales o no, presentan la medicina en toda su faceta; desde los primeros semestres de la carrera "La primera generación", cuando se empieza con el primer trabajo "Azarosos Comienzos", hasta el final que hace una reflexión para aquellos que estudian está carrera "Consideraciones de un Cirujano".
El libro o se lee rápido o lento, eso depende de la historia. Todas tienen su toque peculiar; desde el principio con unas pinceladas machistas hasta las últimas con "los médicos de Hoyland" que se empieza a ver las misma importancia de una mujer en el área. Pero siempre se observa que el amor no triunfa por lo menos para el médico. La rama de la medicina es y será muy importante, destacar su labor de forma jocosa y también sería atrapará a cualquier estudiante o persona que admira si labor. El libro lo cumple a cabalidad habiendo unas historias mejores que otras y muy pocas malas con serie que te dejan un sin sabor.
Resumen de los cuentos por si quieres chismosear alguno:
- De otra época: Cuento sobre como dos médicos modernos le confían su vida a un médico veterano.
- La primera operación: primiparos, que junto con jóvenes de últimos semestres, van a ver una operación.
- Un verano de 1815: la nieta que se encarga de cuidar a su abuelo que estuvo en la guerra (cuento favorito). Médico le dice que le queda poco tiempo.
- La tercera generación: enfermedad que vive y hace morir a au padre. Ahora el posee el mismo mal.
-Azaroso comienzo: un médico que se acaba de graduar y abre su consultorio. (Cuento Favorito)
- La maldición de Eva: una mujer que va dar a luz, el marido nada que encuentra al médico.
- La esposa de un fisiólogo: Dos hermanos solteros, el hermano médico se enamora de una viuda que se le murió el marido.
- El caso de lady sannox: Un médico enamorado de una actriz.
- Cuestión de diplomacia: un ministro enfermo del pie y todos lo esperan para trabaja, pero nada que puedo. Su hija está enferma y se quiere casar, la mamá la ayuda.
- Testimonios Médicos: tres amigos médico que cuentan sus experiencias una mejor o peor de la anterior.
- El lote numero 249: tres medicos en una facultad comparten apartamento, empieza a suceder cosas raras
- El desastre de los amigos: unos electricista, ingenieros, científico querían implantar la pena de muerte. Pero los cálculos no les dia.
- Los médicos de Hoyland: un pueblo pequeño y bastantes médicos, nuestro protagonista se muere por saber quién es el más reconocido y al enterarse que es mujer su machismo lo ciega.
- Consideraciones de un cirujano: mini historias y consejos para futuros médicos.
September 18, 2019
В издании, что мне попалось, этот сборник шёл вместе со сборником про Холмса. Хороший ход — иначе бы я его и вряд ли прочитала, и вряд ли бы дочитала, случись мне в силу каких-то иных обстоятельств его открыть.
Все рассказы сборника так или иначе включают врачей. Большая часть незамысловата и сентиментальна, два забавны, один мрачностью своего сюжета словно пытается компенсировать всех остальных (но у него не получается; антагонист мерзок сам по себе, а на фоне всех рассказов про Холмса, где злодеи могут и не получить наказания, но всегда получат осуждение — вдвойне), ещё два касаются проблем положения в обществе. И на этом я бы осталась пусть не довольна, но удовлетворена прочитанным, но дальше появились два рассказа, очень косвенно связаны с медициной (в сборнике про врачей, что отдельно указано в авторском предисловии), с реальностью (в сборнике про врачей) и, к сожалению, с хорошими рассказами в целом.
Пожалуй, я всё же не очень хочу знать Дойла вне Шерлокианы.
Все рассказы сборника так или иначе включают врачей. Большая часть незамысловата и сентиментальна, два забавны, один мрачностью своего сюжета словно пытается компенсировать всех остальных (но у него не получается; антагонист мерзок сам по себе, а на фоне всех рассказов про Холмса, где злодеи могут и не получить наказания, но всегда получат осуждение — вдвойне), ещё два касаются проблем положения в обществе. И на этом я бы осталась пусть не довольна, но удовлетворена прочитанным, но дальше появились два рассказа, очень косвенно связаны с медициной (в сборнике про врачей, что отдельно указано в авторском предисловии), с реальностью (в сборнике про врачей) и, к сожалению, с хорошими рассказами в целом.
Пожалуй, я всё же не очень хочу знать Дойла вне Шерлокианы.
January 19, 2022
Came into a cloth bound print of this from 1894 at a library book sale and bought it without really looking at it because it was old and I have a problem. A series of short medical stories, some believable accounts from Doyle's own experiences and tales heard from other physicians and other more fantastical stories narrated with intrigue akin to his other novels. A fascinating look into the attitudes and experiences of medical practitioners of the 19th century. The final story describes an accomplished rural male doctor who is humbled by a female doctor new to the area, and he falls in love with her. Reasonably unrequited given his behavior towards her up to his confession. ACD's leanings towards early feminism possibly on display. All around a fun read and a great excuse to learn strange medical terms from the era.
June 7, 2021
Entertaining listening
Due to eye issues and damage Alexa reads to me.
Another will written entertaining novella by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with interesting characters. There are 15 medical 🚑 short stories in this novella. They are interesting and each different from the one before. I would recommend this novella to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans. Enjoy the adventure of reading 2021
Due to eye issues and damage Alexa reads to me.
Another will written entertaining novella by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with interesting characters. There are 15 medical 🚑 short stories in this novella. They are interesting and each different from the one before. I would recommend this novella to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans. Enjoy the adventure of reading 2021
March 12, 2025
Docela fajn povidky na oddych :)
Zaspal dobu do te miry, ze se cas od casu staval k vlastnimu uzasu nositelem pokroku - vyvoj totiz obvykle probiha v kruhu, takze mel napriklad zdaleka nejlepsi prakticke znalosti lecby dietou, jez byvala v mode za jeho mladi, a masaz, kterou moje generace chapala jako prevratnou novinku, pouzival bezne.
Zaspal dobu do te miry, ze se cas od casu staval k vlastnimu uzasu nositelem pokroku - vyvoj totiz obvykle probiha v kruhu, takze mel napriklad zdaleka nejlepsi prakticke znalosti lecby dietou, jez byvala v mode za jeho mladi, a masaz, kterou moje generace chapala jako prevratnou novinku, pouzival bezne.
March 19, 2023
This is a collection of Doyle stories centered around physicians and medicine. Most of them are low-key and some are very touching. My favorite, "Lot 249" is neither of these and may be Conan Doyle's best story outside of the Sherlock Holmes canon.
January 6, 2025
A very engaging collection of incredibly diverse short stories (some not so short). They're all loosely themed around doctors but range from straightforward medical tales to science fiction. This was a great seasonal read. I'd forgotten just how entertaining Conan Doyle can be.
February 15, 2019
4/5 stars
A completely underrated collection of short medical tales: ranging from reanimated mummies to mutilations to syphilis. Doyle is great and I highly recommend for good Victorian ficiton.
A completely underrated collection of short medical tales: ranging from reanimated mummies to mutilations to syphilis. Doyle is great and I highly recommend for good Victorian ficiton.
March 9, 2024
Entretenido aunque un poco simplón, como todo lo de Doyle.
March 2, 2025
Libro molto breve, carino e scorrevole. Molto belle le lunghe descrizioni dei posti e dei personaggi. Nello stile di Arthur
December 30, 2020
Purtroppo mi è sfuggito il senso della metà dei racconti
December 6, 2020
Conan Doyle è stato uno scrittore molto prolifico e ha spaziato nei generi prima di approdare allo Sherlock Holmes che l'ha reso celebre. Essendo medico ha spesso raccontato anche di medicina, come protagonista, come spunto o come semplice comparsa dei racconti. Questa raccolta mette insieme alcuni racconti aventi per protagonisti i medici e la medicina. La lampada rossa del titolo è ciò che dalla finestra indicava, nella Londra vittoriana, la presenza di un medico in casa.
May 14, 2012
Altra raccolta dei racconti “medici” di Conan Doyle. Combinazione domenica, con il Sole, è uscita una raccoltina di 4 brani.
La lampada rossa era, nell’epoca vittoriana, identificativa dell’ambulatorio di un medico. Attività di cui Conan Doyle continuò ad interessarsi, nonostante la scrittura. E anche nei suoi romanzi e racconti “gialli” Holmes ne rappresenta lo spirito ricercatore e diagnostico (Dr House?), Watson la prassi operativa.
Qui ci sono ovviamente medici qualsiasi e i loro incontri con ogni tipo di persone e di problemi. Nel racconto d’apertura uno studente affronta la sua prima operazione, penso nello stesso modo di molti studenti d’oggi. Un giovane medico con una serie di sfortunate esperienze, che alla prima vera occasione, rinfresca la sua etica facendo così, finalmente, fortuna. Un primo parto, visto però dalla parte del padre, anzi udito, perché la paura affina i sensi. Un uomo condannato da un male ereditato dal nonno schiavo di tutti i vizi, che posto di fronte alla nuda verità medica deve compiere una scelta. Un luminare, sposato alla scienza medica, decide di sposarsi una donna ma il destino gli gioca uno scherzo terribile. Un medico coinvolto in un adulterio è il protagonista del racconto più nero. Ed ancora un’esecuzione capitale che farà bene alla salute del condannato, una moglie “diplomatica” che manovrerà dottore e marito (nientemeno che Ministro degli Esteri) come pedine del suo gioco di madre, la prima dottoressa della contea dell’Hampshire.
C’è ironia, un’Inghilterra scomparsa (ma è quella che amiamo ritrovare), anche tenerezza talvolta. E un pizzico di horror.
La lampada rossa era, nell’epoca vittoriana, identificativa dell’ambulatorio di un medico. Attività di cui Conan Doyle continuò ad interessarsi, nonostante la scrittura. E anche nei suoi romanzi e racconti “gialli” Holmes ne rappresenta lo spirito ricercatore e diagnostico (Dr House?), Watson la prassi operativa.
Qui ci sono ovviamente medici qualsiasi e i loro incontri con ogni tipo di persone e di problemi. Nel racconto d’apertura uno studente affronta la sua prima operazione, penso nello stesso modo di molti studenti d’oggi. Un giovane medico con una serie di sfortunate esperienze, che alla prima vera occasione, rinfresca la sua etica facendo così, finalmente, fortuna. Un primo parto, visto però dalla parte del padre, anzi udito, perché la paura affina i sensi. Un uomo condannato da un male ereditato dal nonno schiavo di tutti i vizi, che posto di fronte alla nuda verità medica deve compiere una scelta. Un luminare, sposato alla scienza medica, decide di sposarsi una donna ma il destino gli gioca uno scherzo terribile. Un medico coinvolto in un adulterio è il protagonista del racconto più nero. Ed ancora un’esecuzione capitale che farà bene alla salute del condannato, una moglie “diplomatica” che manovrerà dottore e marito (nientemeno che Ministro degli Esteri) come pedine del suo gioco di madre, la prima dottoressa della contea dell’Hampshire.
C’è ironia, un’Inghilterra scomparsa (ma è quella che amiamo ritrovare), anche tenerezza talvolta. E un pizzico di horror.
January 28, 2014
Il racconto "Falsa partenza" è uno dei nove racconti medici della raccolta "La lampada rossa", pubblicata nel 1894.
Il racconto si apre con il dottor Horace Wilkinson che apre la porta del suo studio medico al primo paziente, ma... Non sempre le prime impressioni sono quelle giuste!
La narrazione brillante e ironica ci accompagna per la prima metà del racconto, disegnando efficacemente il personaggio principale nei suoi gesti e nei suoi pensieri. Nella seconda metà però il racconto perde slancio e si appiattisce per approdare ad un finale davvero poco incisivo.
Il racconto si apre con il dottor Horace Wilkinson che apre la porta del suo studio medico al primo paziente, ma... Non sempre le prime impressioni sono quelle giuste!
La narrazione brillante e ironica ci accompagna per la prima metà del racconto, disegnando efficacemente il personaggio principale nei suoi gesti e nei suoi pensieri. Nella seconda metà però il racconto perde slancio e si appiattisce per approdare ad un finale davvero poco incisivo.
May 13, 2013
This is a little know collection of short stories related to the practice on medicine published in the 1880's. I read it as a Project Gutenburg eBook. Some of the stories are good; some are quite bad and even boring. My favorites were: "A Straggler of '15", "A Physiologists Wife", "Tha Case of Lady Sannox", "Lot Number 249", and my favorite, "The Doctors of Hoyland". I recommend the book but with some reservations.
Currently reading
August 18, 2007have read only lot no. 249 - intriguing story of a mad student in oxford and an ambulatory mummy.
November 20, 2012
Some of the short stories were rather boring.
February 12, 2013
Carino, ottimo per un viaggio in treno.
September 13, 2016
A series of short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
December 12, 2016
Поучительные истории. Со смыслом.
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