archibald joseph cronin

阿契鲍尔德·约瑟夫·克罗宁,英国小说家

a. j. cronin (1896-1981) - in full archibald joseph cronin

scottish novelist, an accomplished storyteller, who practised as a doctor over a decade before devoting himself entirely to writing. cronin gained his fame initially with hatter's castle (1931), the story of the megalomanic james brodie, a scottish hatmaker and his foolish dreams of social acceptance. cronin produced several bestsellers drawing from his experiences as a doctor - his most famous character was dr finlay hyslop. some of his works had religious themes, like the keys of the kingdom (1942), which was also made into a film, starring gregory peck. cronin continued to write until he was in his eightieth year.

"in the recollections of those who, like myself, have ventured into descriptions of their early years, nothing has bored me more than those long, tedious, and particularized listings of the books the author has read and which led, in the end, to the formation of a literary tastes that was demonstrably excellent. for this reason i refrain from presenting a catalogue and state simply that i read everything." (from a song of sixpence, 1964)

archibald joseph cronin was born in cardross, strathclyde, the only child of jessie (montgomerie) cronin and patrick cronin. his childhood was shadowed by the death of his father and poverty; his mother tried to struggle forward alone. after two years she returned to her parents' home. cronin was sent to dumbarton academy at his uncle's expense. in 1914 he entered the glasgow university medical school, graduating in 1919. during world war i cronin served as a surgeon in the royal navy.

after the war he worked as a ship's surgeon on a liner bound for india, and then served in various hospitals. after marrying his early love, agnes mary gibson, whom he had met at glasgow university, cronin left scotland. he moved with his wife, who was also a doctor, to tregenny, a small mining town in south wales, and then to tredegar, where they spent three years, and where their first child was born. after being appointed medical inspector of mines in 1924, he started to investigate occupational diseases in the coal industry. these experiences formed the basis of the novels the stars look down (1935) and the citadel (1937), which made cronin famous in the united states, and inspired the director king vidor's film version of the book. robert donat was nominated for an oscar for his performance in the film.

in 1925 cronin was awarded his m.d. by the university of glasgow and subsequently he started to practise in wales and in london. cronin's heath broke down in 1930 and he sold his practice. whilst convalescing in the west highlands of scotland, he started to write his first novel, hatter's castle. he once threw the manuscript away, believing it would not be good. after being encouraged by a local farmer, digging a ditch which his father had dug without finishing the work, cronin completed his own effort.

the book