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A Country Doctor
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A Country Doctor
Unavailable
A Country Doctor
Audiobook9 hours

A Country Doctor

Written by Sarah Orne Jewett

Narrated by Laurie Klein

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

A hundred and thirty years after it was first published, Sarah Orne Jewett's story of a young medical woman remains an incisive rendering of the dilemmas of gender, society, and self. Nan Prince first becomes interested in medicine as a child, as the ward of the widowed physician Dr. Leslie. In time she becomes his protégée. But when she enters medical college, she realizes that she will have to choose between marriage and her career, between the demands of her society and her obligations to her true self. Inspired by Jewett's own interests and by her father, A Country Doctor portrays a world very much in flux and Nan, ultimately, as a woman with a new world opening to her.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 15, 2009
ISBN9781605483702
Author

Sarah Orne Jewett

Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909) was a prolific American author and poet from South Berwick, Maine. First published at the age of nineteen, Jewett started her career early, combining her love of nature with her literary talent. Known for vividly depicting coastal Maine settings, Jewett was a major figure in the American literary regionalism genre. Though she never married, Jewett lived and traveled with fellow writer Annie Adams Fields, who supported her in her literary endeavors.

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Reviews for A Country Doctor

Rating: 3.6578946447368423 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

38 ratings5 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Somehow I had never read a book by Sarah Orne Jewett, so I was glad to be introduced to her through a book group as this book is a remarkable feminist novel for being written in 1884.Anna Prince is brought to her grandmother's house in Maine by her dying mother, and then is taken to live with the town doctor when her grandmother dies. She is a charming little girl, but serious and bookish and becomes interested in medicine at an early age. Her interest in medicine increases as she grows older. Although the ladies in the town do not approve of her pursuing such an unladylike profession, she remains adamant in her choice of a vocation and goes off to medical school after high school.Halfway through her studies, she receives an invitation from her her father's sister, Nancy, to visit in the seaside town of Dunport. Her aunt, who has been sending the doctor checks for her support her whole life has never shown any interest in her niece, but now seems to want to connect with her only living relative. Aunt Nancy is stern and austere, but is quickly charmed by Nan's generous spirit and begins to hope that Nan will marry her protege, George Gerry and settle down in Dunport.Nan, however, has other ideas. and how she stands up for what she wants would make any feminist today very proud.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautiful descriptions of country locales in all the seasons interweave with a gradually evolving feminist plot.Still wonder why Nan could not combine her chosen Country Doctor career with an eventual marriageas did her guardian and wise teacher, Dr. Leslie. Grandmother Thatcher and Marilla are also memorable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Nan Price was orphaned in infancy, then raised by her grandmother, until her upbringing is finished by Dr. John Leslie. A case can certainly be made that the eponymous doctor is our Dr. Leslie, rather than the heroine. But I won't make that case now.Definitely a product of its time, "A Country Doctor" recounts the massive 19th Century roadblocks standing the the way of a young woman ambitious to be a doctor, and how she overcomes them. Jewett unfolds her story with abstract expositions that deal with specific emotional and interpersonal interactions. It reminds me (on one level) of Henry James, except that Ms. Jewett's way is plainer and clearer, and just as deep. The author portray's Nan's choice as a test of not only perserverance, but also of conscience, in a way that simply would not apply today. That is one of the reasons, obviously, to read this book.The other reasons are that the author's descriptions are full, her characters are deep and well-shaded, and she delivers a life-affirming outcome. I don't know that I would necessarily term this book a classic, but it's certainly worth your while, not only for the historic interest, but also the simple appreciation we take in a well-told, satisfying story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Through the dialogue and incidental plot progression, even through the characterization of major and minor characters, it is easy to see Jewett's great influence on the Canadian writer Lucy Maud Montgomery. As we read the opening chapters of Anne of Green Gables, we see so much of Jewett's small northern world coming through in the guise of Prince Edward Island. Dr. Leslie's maid (interestingly enough named Marilla) is concerned one day over the doctor driving in to town, although the "leisurely way" has "assured her of safety." We see this charmingly busy-body attitude with Montgomery's Rachel Lynde. When shy, taciturn Matthew Cuthbert is all dressed up, driving his buggy, Mrs. Rachel Lynde will not have a moment's peace until she has wrung the truth from her neighbor, the good man's sister, Marilla Cuthbert. "Oh, my afternoon is spoiled!" she exclaims.Through both Dr. Leslie and Marilla Cuthbert we eventually see the hopes and dreams they harbor for Nan and Anne, respectively. These are cherished aspirations which go far beyond their tiny societies. Both Jewett and Montgomery were keenly aware of the roads they were paving for future female writers and thinkers. Both authors loved their heroines and sent them out in to the world to succeed. Marilla had no qualms about Anne studying to be a teacher, for "it is an uncertain world." She was of the opinion that a girl should be able to earn a living. Dr. Leslie, likewise stated, "It's a cold, cold world....only one thing will help [Nan] through safely, and that is her usefulness. She shall never be either a thief or a beggar of the world's favor if I can have my wish."Praise are due both to Jewett and Montgomery. Neither heroine has weakened and paled with time. Neither writer has become less significant to women's studies.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not as good as the Pointed Firs, but still very readable.