The Citadel (novel)

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The Citadel
TheCitadelCronin.jpeg
First edition
Author A. J. Cronin
LanguageEnglish
Published1937
Gollancz (UK)
Little, Brown (US)
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages446 pp. (UK hardcover)
ISBN 0-450-01041-4

The Citadel is a novel by A. J. Cronin, first published in 1937, which was groundbreaking in its treatment of the contentious subject of medical ethics. It has been credited with laying the foundation in Britain for the introduction of the NHS a decade later. [1] [2]

Contents

In the United States, it won the National Book Award for 1937 novels, voted by members of the American Booksellers Association. [3]

For his fifth book, Dr. Cronin drew on his experiences practising medicine in the coal-mining communities of the South Wales Valleys, as he had for The Stars Look Down two years earlier. Specifically, he had researched and reported on the correlation between coal dust inhalation and lung disease in the town of Tredegar. He had also worked as a doctor for the Tredegar Medical Aid Society at the Cottage Hospital, which served as the model for the National Health Service.

Cronin once stated in an interview, "I have written in The Citadel all I feel about the medical profession, its injustices, its hide-bound unscientific stubbornness, its humbug ... The horrors and inequities detailed in the story I have personally witnessed. This is not an attack against individuals, but against a system."

Plot summary

In October 1924, Andrew Manson, an idealistic, newly qualified doctor, arrives from Scotland to work as assistant to Doctor Page in the small (fictitious) Welsh mining town of Drineffy (Blaenelly is the name given in some adaptations). He quickly realises that Page is unwell and disabled and that he has to do all the work for a meagre wage. Shocked by the unsanitary conditions he discovers, Manson works to improve matters and receives the support of Dr Philip Denny, a cynical semi-alcoholic who, Manson finds out in due course, took a post as an assistant doctor after having fallen from grace as a surgeon. Resigning, he obtains a post as assistant in a miners' medical aid scheme in "Aberalaw", a neighbouring coal mining town in the South Wales coalfield. On the strength of this job, Manson marries Christine Barlow, a junior school teacher.

Christine helps her husband with his silicosis research. Eager to improve the lives of his patients, mainly coal miners, Manson dedicates many hours to research in his chosen field of lung disease. He studies for, and is granted, the MRCP, and when his research is published, an MD. The research gains him a post with the "Mines Fatigue Board" in London, but he resigns after six months to set up a private practice.

Seduced by the thought of easy money from wealthy clients rather than the principles he started with, Manson becomes involved with pampered private patients and fashionable surgeons and drifts away from his wife. A patient dies because of a surgeon's ineptitude, and the incident causes Manson to abandon his practice and return to his principles. He and his wife repair their damaged relationship, but then she is run over by a bus and killed.

Since Manson has accused the incompetent surgeon of murder, he is vindictively reported to the General Medical Council for having worked with an American tuberculosis specialist, Richard Stillman, who does not have a medical degree, even though the patient had been successfully treated at his clinic. Stillman's treatment, that of pneumothorax, involved collapsing an affected lung with nitrogen, and was not universally accepted at the time.

Despite his lawyer's gloomy prognosis, Manson forcefully justifies his actions during the hearing and is not struck off the medical register.

Characters

Part I: Drineffy

Part II: Aberalaw

Part III: CMFB

Part IV: Private Practice

Historical context

The novel is of interest because of its portrayal of a voluntary contribution medical association which is based (not entirely uncritically) on the Tredegar Medical Aid Society for which Cronin worked for a time in the 1920s, and which in due course became the inspiration for the National Health Service as established under Aneurin Bevan.

The Citadel was extremely popular in translation, being sold in book shops in the Third Reich as late as 1944. The scholar and Holocaust survivor Victor Klemperer noted, "English novels are banned of course; but there are books by A.J. Cronin in every shop window: he’s Scottish and exposes shortcomings of social and public services in England." [4] After the Second World War, it proved popular in Communist bloc countries as well, where Cronin was one of the few contemporary British authors to be published. [5]

Adaptations

The novel was made into a 1938 film with Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson and Rex Harrison, and television versions include one American (1960), two British (1960 and 1983), and two Italian (1964 and 2003) adaptations of the novel. There are also three film adaptations of the novel in Indian languages: Tere Mere Sapne (1971) in Hindi, Jiban Saikate (1972) in Bengali and Madhura Swapnam (1982) in Telugu. [6] In 2017, an adaptation for radio by Christopher Reason was featured as the BBC Radio 4 15 minute drama. [7] In June 2021, a longer radio adaptation was broadcast by Radio 4 as two 45-minute episodes, written by Christopher Reason and Tom Needham. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. J. Cronin</span> Scottish physician and novelist (1896–1981)

Archibald Joseph Cronin, known as A. J. Cronin, was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is The Citadel (1937), about a Scottish physician who serves in a Welsh mining village before achieving success in London, where he becomes disillusioned about the venality and incompetence of some doctors. Cronin knew both areas, as a medical inspector of mines and as a physician in Harley Street. The book exposed unfairness and malpractice in British medicine and helped to inspire the National Health Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dr. Finlay</span> Fictional character

Dr Finlay is a fictional character, the hero of a series of stories by Scottish author A. J. Cronin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tredegar</span> Town in Wales

Tredegar is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the Industrial Revolution in Wales. The relevant wards collectively listed the town's population as 15,103 in the UK 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Brompton Hospital</span> Hospital in London, England

Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom. It is managed by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

<i>The Citadel</i> (1983 TV series) British television series

The Citadel is a 1983 BBC television adaptation written by Don Shaw from A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel The Citadel. It was produced by Ken Riddington. The drama was directed by Peter Jefferies and Mike Vardy.

<i>The Citadel</i> (1938 film) 1938 British film by King Vidor

The Citadel is a 1938 British drama film based on the 1937 novel of the same name by A. J. Cronin. The film was directed by King Vidor and produced by Victor Saville for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British at Denham Studios. It stars Robert Donat and Rosalind Russell. The film and book helped the creation of Britain's NHS in 1947.

<i>The Stars Look Down</i> 1935 novel by A. J. Cronin

The Stars Look Down is a 1935 novel by A. J. Cronin which chronicles various injustices in an English coal mining community. A film version was released in 1940, and television adaptations include both Italian (1971) and British (1975) versions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh</span> Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland

The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire. The hospital moved to a new 900 bed site in 2003 in Little France. It is the site of clinical medicine teaching as well as a teaching hospital for the University of Edinburgh Medical School. In 1960 the first successful kidney transplant performed in the UK was at this hospital. In 1964 the world's first coronary care unit was established at the hospital. It is the only site for liver, pancreas, and pancreatic islet cell transplantation in Scotland, and one of the country's two sites for kidney transplantation. In 2012, the Emergency Department had 113,000 patient attendances, the highest number in Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the National Health Service</span>

The name National Health Service (NHS) is used to refer to the publicly funded health care services of England, Scotland and Wales, individually or collectively. Northern Ireland's services are known as 'Health and Social Care' to promote its dual integration of health and social services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tredegar General Hospital</span> Hospital in Wales

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<i>Once to Every Woman</i> (1934 film) 1934 film by Lambert Hillyer

Once to Every Woman is a 1933 American pre-Code film adaptation of A. J. Cronin's 1933 short story Kaleidoscope in "K". The film was made by Columbia Pictures and stars Ralph Bellamy and Fay Wray.

<i>The Citadel</i> (2003 miniseries) 2003 Italian TV series or program

La Cittadella is a 2003 Italian miniseries based on A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel, The Citadel, and produced by Titanus. It was directed by Fabrizio Costa and stars Massimo Ghini as Dr. Manson and Barbora Bobuľová as his wife, Christine. Other television versions include an American (1960), another Italian (1964), and two British adaptations.

The Citadel is a 1960 American television film adaptation of A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel The Citadel. It was written by Dale Wasserman and directed by Paul Bogart. It starred James Donald as Dr. Manson and Ann Blyth as Christine Barlow.

<i>La Cittadella</i> (1964 miniseries) 1964 Italian TV series or program

La Cittadella is a 1964 Italian miniseries based on A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel, The Citadel, and produced by Radiotelevisione Italiana. It was directed by Anton Giulio Majano and stars Alberto Lupo as Dr. Manson and Anna Maria Guarnieri as his wife, Christine. Other television versions include an American (1960), another Italian (2003), and two British adaptations, 1960 and 1983.

The Citadel was a 1960 British television adaptation of A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel, The Citadel. The series was directed by John Frankau and produced by Peter Graham Scott. It starred Eric Lander as Dr. Andrew Manson, and Zena Walker as Christine, his wife. This television adaptation is entirely missing, i.e. all nine episodes are believed to be lost.

<i>Dr. Finlays Casebook</i> BBC TV drama series (1962–1971)

Dr. Finlay's Casebook is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s. Cronin was the primary writer for the show between 1962 and 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Conway</span>

Walter Conway was the longstanding secretary of the Tredegar Medical Aid Society in South Wales. This society contributed the model which established the British National Health Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tredegar Medical Aid Society</span> South Wales medical aid self-help association

Tredegar Medical Aid Society was founded in Tredegar in South Wales. In return for contributions from its members it provided health care free at the point of use. This society contributed the model which established the British National Health Service. According to Colin Ward, the model had "evolved from the vast network of friendly societies and mutual aid organisations that had sprung up through working class self-help in the 19th century."

<i>Bad for Each Other</i> 1953 film by Irving Rapper

Bad for Each Other is a 1953 American drama film noir directed by Irving Rapper and starring Charlton Heston, Lizabeth Scott and Dianne Foster. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Its genre has been characterized as a "medical melodrama" with a film noir "bad girl".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Women's Hospital at Royaumont</span> Medical hospital during World War I, located in Val-dOise, France

The Scottish Women's Hospital at Royaumont was a medical hospital during World War I active from January 1915 to March 1919 operated by Scottish Women's Hospitals (SWH), under the direction of the French Red Cross and located at Royaumont Abbey. The Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, located near Asnières-sur-Oise in Val-d'Oise, approximately 30 km north of Paris, France. The hospital was started by Dr Frances Ivens and founder of SWH, Dr Elsie Maud Inglis. It was especially noted for its performance treating soldiers involved in the Battle of the Somme.

References

  1. "An expectant public: 1948–2008 60 years of the NHS". Birth of NHS in Scotland. Scottish Government. 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  2. "A.J. Cronin: Biography on Undiscovered Scotland". undiscoveredscotland.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  3. "Booksellers Give Prize to 'Citadel': Cronin's Work About Doctors Their Favorite--'Mme. Curie' Gets Non-Fiction Award ...", The New York Times, 2 March 1938, page 14. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851–2007).
    Ballots were submitted by 319 stores; there had been about 600 ABA members one year earlier.
    • At the Hotel Astor luncheon, presenter Clifton Fadiman said, "Unlike the Pulitzer Prize committee, the booksellers merely vote for their favorite books. They do not say it is the best book or the one that will elevate the standard of manhood or womanhood. Twenty years from now we can decide which are the masterpieces. This year we can only decide which books we enjoyed reading the most."
  4. "I Will Bear Witness A Diary of the Nazi Years" . Retrieved 18 March 2020 via Internet Archive.
  5. Mckibbin, Ross (1 June 2008). "Politics and the Medical Hero: A.J. Cronin's The Citadel". The English Historical Review. CXXIII (502): 651–678. doi:10.1093/ehr/cen162. ISSN   0013-8266.
  6. "IN FOCUS – Dreaming of a better tomorrow". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  7. "15 Minute Drama, The Citadel". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  8. "The Citadel episode 1". BBC Sounds. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
    - "The Citadel episode 2". BBC Sounds. Retrieved 17 June 2021.