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The Doctor's Dilemma
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
587 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1873
About the author
Hesba Stretton
145 books9 followersHesba Stretton (1832-1911) was the nom de plume of Sarah Smith, an English author of children's literature. The name Hesba came from the initials of her siblings. She was the daughter of a bookseller from Wellington, Shropshire, but around 1867 she moved south and lived at Snaresbrook and Loughton near Epping Forest and at Ham, near Richmond, Surrey. Her moral tales and semi-religious stories, chiefly for the young, were printed in huge quantities, and were especially widespread as school and Sunday school prizes. She won wide acceptance in English homes from the publication of Jessica's First Prayer in 1867. She was a regular contributor to Household Words and All the Year Round during Charles Dickens' editorship, and wrote upwards of 40 novels.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 25, 2020
2.5 stars. This is a Victorian era romantic soap opera, with all the drama, self-sacrifice and long-windedness that implies.
Written in 1873 (I read it online at Project Gutenberg), The Doctor's Dilemma begins with an uppercrust, frantic young woman, Olivia, escaping from the rooms in London where she's been locked in for three weeks because REASONS, and haring off as far as she can go ... which ends up being the Channel Islands. There she shelters with a friendly fisherman and his aged mother in a remote cottage on the island of Sark.
One fateful day Olivia slips and falls down a cliff, injuring herself pretty badly. Enter the handsome doctor from the nearby island of Guernsey, and love at first sight. But the handsome doctor is also engaged to a cousin of his, which was a major thing to try to upend back in that day. Also the doctor soon realizes that Olivia is the nameless woman that he saw a newspaper ad for, by someone trying to find her. Sinister or good? He doesn't know. What he also doesn't know is that Olivia has other secrets she hasn't shared ...
Not badly written, for its day, but MAN, does this novel take the long and winding road to the expected ending. Maybe it was originally written as a newspaper serial? Because I can't think of any other reason (besides Victorian, which admittedly does explain a lot) for it to be so lengthy. I have to admit I skimmed most of the second half of it.
Recommended only if you really like old-fashioned romance and don't mind if it’s a super-slow burn.
Written in 1873 (I read it online at Project Gutenberg), The Doctor's Dilemma begins with an uppercrust, frantic young woman, Olivia, escaping from the rooms in London where she's been locked in for three weeks because REASONS, and haring off as far as she can go ... which ends up being the Channel Islands. There she shelters with a friendly fisherman and his aged mother in a remote cottage on the island of Sark.
One fateful day Olivia slips and falls down a cliff, injuring herself pretty badly. Enter the handsome doctor from the nearby island of Guernsey, and love at first sight. But the handsome doctor is also engaged to a cousin of his, which was a major thing to try to upend back in that day. Also the doctor soon realizes that Olivia is the nameless woman that he saw a newspaper ad for, by someone trying to find her. Sinister or good? He doesn't know. What he also doesn't know is that Olivia has other secrets she hasn't shared ...
Not badly written, for its day, but MAN, does this novel take the long and winding road to the expected ending. Maybe it was originally written as a newspaper serial? Because I can't think of any other reason (besides Victorian, which admittedly does explain a lot) for it to be so lengthy. I have to admit I skimmed most of the second half of it.
Recommended only if you really like old-fashioned romance and don't mind if it’s a super-slow burn.
May 14, 2011
This was recommended by Kathleen (thanks Kathleen!), and I'm so glad she found it! I knew nothing of this author with a strange name before. It turns out she used a pseudonym, her real name being Sarah Smith, and she wrote primarily children's books. Like some other children's fiction writers we've published on Girlebooks (Frances Hodgeson Burnett, E. Nesbit, LM Montgomery), Stretton also ventured into adult fiction. And like those other authors, (if this book is anything to go by) her adult fiction is very good.
The story is that of Olivia who, as the curtain opens, is in a very serious dilemma herself. She has been locked in a room, threatened, and is frantic to escape. She sees her chance, takes it, and runs as far away as possible from her captors. Her escape takes her to the Channel Islands, to the smallest one named Sark, and there she takes up residence with a fisherman named Tardiff and his mother. She lives here peacefully, under an assumed name and identity, until she has an accident and is in need of a doctor. Dr Martin Dobree comes from the neighboring island Guernsey and is instantly taken with her. Thus unfolds various circumstances that delve into Olivia's past and what will become of her future.
Told in alternating narratives--first from the point of view of Olivia, then Martin Dobree, and finally back to Olivia--we never get a fully omniscient idea of what is going on at any given point. We have no idea what Olivia has done and why she is locked in a room at the beginning. When Martin Dobree takes over is where most of the mystery starts to unfold. The story stagnates at this point slightly, going into various minor characters and their lives, but Stretton makes up for it in character development. She goes so completely into Martin's mind and motives that in the third part, it is all the more heartbreaking to view his actions and reactions from Olivia's point of view.
Culturally, this book is significant for bringing to light a part of the world not normally shown in books--that of the British Channel Islands. What a fascinating part of the world this is, with mingling Norman and British history. I found it interesting that when Martin makes a visit to rural Normandy in the book, he is surprised to find that the peasants there speak the same French Patois that he does. It is an amazing setting for a novel, tinged with mystery and romance. Highly recommended!
The story is that of Olivia who, as the curtain opens, is in a very serious dilemma herself. She has been locked in a room, threatened, and is frantic to escape. She sees her chance, takes it, and runs as far away as possible from her captors. Her escape takes her to the Channel Islands, to the smallest one named Sark, and there she takes up residence with a fisherman named Tardiff and his mother. She lives here peacefully, under an assumed name and identity, until she has an accident and is in need of a doctor. Dr Martin Dobree comes from the neighboring island Guernsey and is instantly taken with her. Thus unfolds various circumstances that delve into Olivia's past and what will become of her future.
Told in alternating narratives--first from the point of view of Olivia, then Martin Dobree, and finally back to Olivia--we never get a fully omniscient idea of what is going on at any given point. We have no idea what Olivia has done and why she is locked in a room at the beginning. When Martin Dobree takes over is where most of the mystery starts to unfold. The story stagnates at this point slightly, going into various minor characters and their lives, but Stretton makes up for it in character development. She goes so completely into Martin's mind and motives that in the third part, it is all the more heartbreaking to view his actions and reactions from Olivia's point of view.
Culturally, this book is significant for bringing to light a part of the world not normally shown in books--that of the British Channel Islands. What a fascinating part of the world this is, with mingling Norman and British history. I found it interesting that when Martin makes a visit to rural Normandy in the book, he is surprised to find that the peasants there speak the same French Patois that he does. It is an amazing setting for a novel, tinged with mystery and romance. Highly recommended!
July 16, 2011
The story could have been compressed just a little, I think, but what a good read! It began with such drama and pulled me right in. The suppression of information at the beginning is so intriguing! A young girl is being forcibly kept in a room, and when she sees one opportunity of running away, she takes it. But at first you have no idea why, and you don't even know who are the people she's running from. I made assumptions, and was wrong. She leaves London and makes her way to the Channel islands, where she finds friendship and safety. And even love. But the story is not to end there--no, her problems are still current, and the rest of the story slowly reveals what she has run from. The first third and the last third are told from her point of view, and the middle is told from the point of view of Dr. Martin Dobree. This format works well in the story. It's a sweet, dramatic story.
March 1, 2011
Very Victorian. In real life, unfortunately, Olivia probably would not have had such a happy ending, but it was nice for the book. The characters were really personable and well developed. Realistic female characters are always appreciated!
October 22, 2013
Why only 3 stars? Well, it was definitely a good book and worth the read.. Though it, took a while for the story to sum up. It could have been written shorter.. One of the reasons I only gave it 3 Stars is because, it took forever to get to the end, but when you got there, the end was rushed through! Was a little disappointing. Definitely not at all like Stretton's book "Jessica's First Prayer".. Still has a good story.
January 14, 2015
The setting of this novel, the Channel Islands, was so vivid. I really enjoyed seeing it. Very fast-paced. The first chapter starts in the action and it doesn't let up. The heroine was endearing and strong. I liked this novel.
May 11, 2017
Group read with Public Domain Readers. I read it on Gutenberg.
July 17, 2015
This book was absolutely fascinating and engrossing with plot twists around every turn. It would have been absolutely fabulous if not for the ending. Without giving anything away, the ending seemed disjointed and rushed. It was as if the author got tired or ran out of steam as it lacked the emotional depth the rest of the book captured. I liked the ending, just not the depth in which it was presented.
May 18, 2019
Good story, refreshing in the fact that it takes place in times gone by, lending a blanket of calm to even the most upsetting incidents in the story, because of the way the characters handled events and their reactions to those events.
After reading so many modern novels, this was a puff of fresh air. Very relaxing to read.
After reading so many modern novels, this was a puff of fresh air. Very relaxing to read.
January 23, 2016
Ancora una scrittrice sconosciuta, ancora una piacevolissima sorpresa. Forse i protagonisti raggiungono il 'lieto fine' della loro vicenda avventurosa grazie anche a un bel po' di fortuna… Ma non me la sento di parlar male di un romanzo che mi ha straordinariamente intrattenuto e divertito.
March 18, 2014
Liked the story overall. Didn't like that it dragged on the dreary and rushed the happy. Also would have given it more stars if it had actually been about THE Doctor.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews