Plan: General background

Archibald Joseph Cronin (1896 - 1981)

Archibald Joseph Cronin is considered a very prominent representative of critical realism. He was born at Cardross, Dumbartonshire, Scotland, educated at Dumbarton Academy and in 1914 began to study medicine at the Glasgow University. But his studies were interrupted by World War 1, when he served in the Navy as a surgeon sub-lieutenant. In 1919 he graduated from the Glasgow University. After graduation from the University he started practice first in Scotland and later in South Wales and the West End of London. While working in South Wales, Cronin stud­ied hard to receive higher medical degree. He was awarded his M.D. by the Glasgow University.

In 1930 Cronin's health broke down. Being unable to practice medicine any longer, he decided to try his hand at literature. "Hatter's Castle", written in 1931 was his first novel and unassuming honesty of his work won him fame and recognition. At the age of thirty he had won a gold medal in a nation-wide competition for the best historical essay of the year.

"Hatter's Castle" is an extremely gloomy novel. The plot cen­ters round the life of the Brodie family. The head of the family, Mr.Brodie, is a rich farmer, a proud, selfish, wicked man. His cruelty and vanity ruin the life of his wife and children. The end of the book is tragic. The novel is talented and exciting, but the events and characters are shown in the naturalistic manner - they lack the critical interpretation of the events. The author does not go deep into the social causes which give rise to such vicious characters as Mr.Brodie.

The next novel "The Stars Look Down" (1935) marks the beginning of Cronin's most mature period. The book deals with the burning problems of life: labor and capital, politics, economics, strikes in coalmines, education, marriage and so on. The action takes place in the North of England during World War I. The central conflict of the novel is the fight of the miners against the pit-owners. Cronin does not support the revolutionary struggle of the workers (in his opinion it is inevitably doomed to failure), but his sympathy with the working people is quite evident. The charm of "The Stars Look Down" lies in a realistic portrayal of the characters and a truthful description of the hard life of the miners. The novel is justly considered one of the best works of realism.

in "The Citadel" (1937), as in many novels of the later period, Cronin deals with the life and work of an intellectual (usually a medical man). He shows that the profession of a doctor is honorable and important, but it is often regarded only as a means of taking money. Thus a physician faces an alternative, either to prosper at the expense of others or to do his best to help poor suffering humanity and so to be doomed to poverty. Andrew Manson, the main character of "The Citadel", has to face this alternative. "The Citadel" is a social novel. It is considered to be Cronin's masterpiece. The book describes different aspects of life in the first half of the 20^th century, which the author knew well from his own experience.