A.J Cronin: A Doctor Who Became a Prolific Writer
How my love for reading fuelled my passion for writing…
The seeds of reading and appreciating meaningful literature were sown both by my parents and teachers, for which I am thankful to them that I was able to carve out a writing career of my own. My love for classic British and American literature has always stood me in good stead. All my favorite male and female novelists have fuelled my imagination and given wings to my creativity to help me soar in both flights of fantasy and creative ecstasy. Writing has given my life a sense of purpose, direction, and belonging- belonging to a world of words and books.
My English teachers in middle school played a major role in instilling in me a love for books. Reading some of the finest works by Arthur Conan Doyle, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, Daphne Du Maurier, Jane Austen, and many more have left me both satisfied and speechless.
There was one such Scottish author Dr.A.J Cronin whose novels sat prominently on the shelves of the school library. None of my classmates touched them as they had gathered dust and collected cobwebs on them. But one day not finding anything interesting to read, out of curiosity I pulled out the novel ‘The Citadel’ and leafed through its pages. After a few minutes, I was hooked by the author’s writing style; to whom I am grateful to this day. This is just a humble tribute to an author whose works are masterpieces in the world of literature.
His Beginnings…
A.J. Cronin whose full name was Archibald Joseph Cronin was born in Cardross, Dunbartonshire in Scotland. His father who was an insurance agent died of tuberculosis when Cronin was seven years. He along with his mother moved to their maternal grandparent’s home in Dumbarton where his mother became a medical inspector in Glasgow. Cronin was a good student when he was in school and won many prizes in writing competitions, athletics and was an active association footballer. He studied medicine and won the Carnegie scholarship to pursue higher medicine at the University of Glasgow.
An Illustrious Medical Career
Before graduating from medical school he served as a Surgeon sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve during World War II. In 1924 he was appointed as the Medical Inspector of Mines for Great Britain. During his tenure, he did a survey on the effects of inhaling coal dust which was closely linked to both heart and lung diseases. His breakthrough findings were widely acclaimed and went on to become one of the finest doctors in British history. The plight of men working in the coal mines of Scotland and Wales is so vividly captured in his novels The Citadel, 1937 and The Stars Look Down, for which he went on to achieve the status of a literary legend.
A Turning Point
The year 1930 was a life-changing year for Cronin as he was diagnosed with a duodenal ulcer and was confined to bed for six months. While he was recovering Cronin put his creative juices to work and brought out the two best novels The Citadel 1937 set in Wales and The Stars Look Down against the backdrop of the quiet countryside of Northumberland. What sets him apart as a writer is that he always had a penchant for writing about young men and their struggles. People wanted to read something real and fresh and Cronin never failed to impress his readers and admirers.
Literary Success
After the huge success of The Citadel, Cronin never looked back as he became a name in literary circles to reckon with. He wrote and wrote passionately pouring out all his love to tell stories. What sets him apart is that he blatantly criticized incompetent doctors who had flourishing practices on Harley Street in London through rampant malpractices prevalent in British society at that time. Cronin went on to become a publishing success and many of his books were bestsellers during that time. These best sellers were translated into several other languages.
The reason why I admire Cronin’s novels is that his works study the moral conflicts, malpractices, and wrongdoings between the individual and British society at large. His protagonists in both the novels The Citadel and The Stars That Look Down are portrayed as larger-than-life heroes who fought for justice for the underprivileged in society.
Cronin was both a prolific and a prodigious writer who wrote around 5000 words a day. He was tough, meticulous, and ruthless when it came to his writing and business but in his personal life, his conversations were peppered with a lot of humor and affection. In America, The Citadel won the National Book Award and was also voted as the most interesting book readers had ever read.
With a flourishing writing career, Cronin along with his family moved to America in 1939. Many of his books were now being adapted into films. Living in different cities and states, Cronin became friends with Hollywood legends Sir Lawrence Olivier, Charles Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn, and many more.
In his later years, Cronin settled down in Montreaux, Switzerland where he wrote into his eighties but recalls fond memories of his childhood years growing up in Dumbarton.
Cronin died on January 6th, 1981, and is interred at La Tour de Peilz. His writings both published and unpublished have been placed at the National Library of Scotland and at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, USA.
I rest my rich tributes to one of the most prolific writers of English Literature.
