A chronic duodenal ulcer prompted a career switch and he began writing books, TV and film scripts, including the Oscar-nominated The Citadel. Both are about Finlay’s adventures as a small town Scottish doctor in the early 20th century - yet they couldn’t be more different. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Change country: -Select- Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Islands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Republic Gambia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Namibia Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Niue Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of Croatia Republic of the Congo Reunion Romania Saint Helena Saint Kitts-Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State Venezuela Virgin Islands (U. A lot of the "human interest" of his stories would have come not just from his own experiences but also those of his paternal grandparents, who ran a pub in the district, and from his mother - who was Scotland's first female public health inspector!

Both doctors frequently clash over preferred methods of dealing with patients, with Cameron preferring traditional medicine to Dr Finlay’s more contemporary methods. Cronin received copies of the scripts, and he wrote a blunt letter to the series' script editor in 1964, expressing his dissatisfaction with the progression of the show. In 1991 BBC Enterprises produced a double cassette copy of four of the radio broadcasts (as of 13 November 2016 a copy of the cover is the profile picture on this listing). I love The Citadel and was hoping for the same quality of writing, but that’s not what these stories are.

The characters were revived by ITV from 1993-96 and were adapted again for BBC radio in 2001 and 2002.

The stories were used as the basis of the long-running BBC television programme Dr Finlay's Casebook, screened from 1962 to 1971, and the radio series of the same title (1970–78). g. Dr Finlay’s attitude to women: he was falling in love left, right, and centre, and then it turned out that he had an illegitimate son.The first half consists of several short, slice-of-life stories about the life of a Scottish country doctor in the immediate pre-NHS era, and they're a bit dated in style but mostly interesting and enjoyable. Finlay (Bill Simpson) crashed his old Bullnose Morris into the wall of Arden House—and that was not in the script.

As with many short story collections these were (I believe) originally published in magazines and never really intended to make a story arc - indeed rather like the stories of Sherlock Holmes they do contradict each other here and there.Finlay may find himself helping with a surprise pregnancy and the next he could be working out a solution to Dr. Finlay's battles in a small Scottish town are much more superficial and at times it's even a bit slapstick-- the tale of Dr Cameron and his dodgy appendix for instance. If you haven’t seen Dr Finlay yet, you are certain to enjoy these medical tales from 1920s Scotland! Without fail, they involve a local character, often someone who is obnoxious for one reason or another, but needs Dr Finlay's care and attention. If I had only read the first part of this book, I’d have given it 4 stars - after the second, it barely deserves two!

Dr Finlay of Tannochbrae is the first book in the omnibus, although it was published nearly forty years after Adventures of a Black Bag.

I can see how it very much worked for a weekly television serial but sadly, unlike the Citadel it doesn't seem to have stood the test of time as well. Essential viewing then it was based on the tales of AJ Cronin, himself a qualified doctor and an accomplished author.