DOCTOR AT SEA

by Richard Gordon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 21, 1953

A successor to Doctor in the House takes an unsteady step aboard the Lotus, for a therapeutic convalescence from a prospective mesalliance which had left him a trifle peckish. The Lotus is a ""floating"" (in gin) ""warehouse"", not unlucky- but a little accident prone, and he is his own first patient during the first few days which find him violently seasick. And after a rather alarming account of his predecessor (a souse), Gordon's practice settles down to a routine of v.d.'s, d.t.'s, and the preservation of the health of the Captain's stomach- his gastric mornings have wide-spread effects. He prepares for an acute appendectomy- and the crew prepares for the last rites; he escapes the overindulgence of a shore leave in Santos- but pays heavily in other ways; the Captain, increasingly morose, suggests a diagnosis- syphilis- and a possibly overeager interpretation of the symptoms enables him to certify him as insane- and put him ashore in the Canary Islands. The return trip, to England, is accomplished in greater harmony..... The casual impudence of the earlier book brightens the unprofessional annals here; they are perhaps less substantial- but you will find no morbid tissue- only a careless state of euphoria. The market for the first book provides an easy prognosis.

Pub Date: Jan. 21, 1953

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harcourt, Brace

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1953

Categories: NONFICTION