As part of a forthcoming blog collection on clinical reflections of medicine, we are pleased to offer ‘The Notes of Doctor Newgate’ by Alan Franks (Muswell Press Ltd, 2013) for review. Expressions of interest are welcome from across the medical humanities although this book might be particularly suited to people interested in literature.
‘The Notes of Dr. Newgate is the chronicle of a middle-aged suburban GP whose life is undergoing a series of crises. His home life is a set of estrangements from his troubled wife Imogen, his angry student son Ricky and the au pair Inez, whose continuing presence in the house he can’t quite explain. William Newgate is himself recovering from the serious condition of alcoholism.
His life is thrown into chaos by the arrival of a young patient, Serena, who is convinced he has the answers to her confused and abused life. In unsparing detail he records the development of their relationship – a dangerous and reckless liaison which will almost certainly spell the end of his career, and more, if it comes to light – as it surely will.
The Notes of Dr. Newgate is a richly comic but profound study of addiction in its myriad forms – not just drink and drugs but also the lethal lures of gambling, power, lust, even love and faith themselves.’
If you would like to write a review on ‘The Notes of Doctor Newgate’ (up to 1,500 words in length), then please email our reviews editor with a short explanation of why you are well placed to review the book.