Noah Gordon’s acclaimed trilogy, spanning one thousand years in the lives of one uncommonly gifted family In The Physician, an orphan in eleventh-century London, Robert Cole, becomes a fast-talking swindler. As he matures, his strange gift–an acute sensitivity to impending death–never leaves him, and he yearns to become a healer. Arab madrassas are the only authentic medical schools, and he … madrassas are the only authentic medical schools, and he makes his perilous way to Persia. Christians are barred from Muslim schools, but by claiming he is a Jew, he studies under the world’s most renowned physician, Avicenna. Cole’s journey and love for a woman who must struggle against her only rival–medicine–make The Physician a riveting modern classic.
In Shaman, Dr. Robert Judson Cole, nineteenth-century descendent of the first Robert Cole, travels from his ravaged Scottish homeland, through the operating rooms of antebellum Boston, to the cabins of frontier Illinois. In the wilderness he befriends the starving remnants of the Sauk tribe, who have fled their reservation. In the process, he absorbs their culture and learns native remedies that enrich his classical medical education. He marries a remarkable settler woman he had saved from illness. The Cole family is drawn into the bloody vortex of the Civil War, and their determination to survive in the midst of wilderness and violence will stay with the reader long after the final page.
In Matters of Choice, Roberta Jeanne d’Arc Cole is the latest first-born descendant of Dr. Robert Cole. Favored to be named associate chief of medicine at a Boston hospital, she is married to a surgeon and owns a trophy residence in Cambridge as well as a summer house. But everything melts away. Her gender and her work at an abortion clinic cost her the hospital appointment. Her marriage fails. Crushed, she goes to her farmhouse in western Massachusetts, thinking to sell it, and finds an unexpected life. How she continues to fight for every woman’s right to choose, while acknowledging her own ticking clock and maternal yearning, makes this prize-winning third story of the Cole trilogy relevant and unforgettable.
By noahgordon
Noah Gordan always writes relevant, interesting and intelligent novels that provoke good thinking and conversations.
These books were interesting and I enjoyed reading them. They are books about several generations of doctors and how medicine was tought by the doctors of their generation. Makes me really glad I live in this day and age, as far a treatment for ailments go. Good read.
I loved this trilogy. I found the last one to be a bit lacking, but continued as I still wanted to know how the family turned out.
I loved the first two books but the third book didn’t quite capture my attention
I’ ve been reading novels since I was 12. Now 73. This was among the best!!
Excellent!
Historical element
Loved the First two books. Couldn’t really feel for the doctor’s reasoning for doing abortions
Loved the entire series. Excellent character development. The fact and fiction combination worked so well. Highly recommend the series. I couldn’t put them down.
The first book is fantastic, the physician. The next two I Iost interest in and never finished.
Excellent history and prose, colorful characters, exotic settings, plots that carry you along. The third book pales compared to the first two.
High class historical fiction supported by intense research that gives each tale a texture and density that its rare. Characters are clear, credible and admirable.
I was gripped by this trilogy – the language, subject matter, and well fleshed out characters.
Very well documented and interesting
From the first book to the last, I enjoyed following the generations of the Cole family. Was a stretch to find the threads of the relationships aside from the names, given the hundreds of years from start to finish. But each was engaging in its own right.
Read the first of these three books. Taking a break as it is intense. Still, loved the book, the characters, how it was written. Highly Recommend this first book if you like stories if the middle ages, medicine or just like to see a neglected young boy grow into a admirable man; it was nearly impossible to put down.
Being a medical person I enjoyed the history of medicine and how it evolved.
Noah Gordon paints wonderful pictures of three different historical periods in this trilogy of medical novels. The characters are fascinating yet real. The descriptions of the times and the political climate of each period are so well done the reader feels like the author was actually there. Although each book is a stand alone story, the books are best read in order.
The Physician is a great read–it’s a lengthy book, but I like long reads. Characters are engaging and easy to imagine. Enjoy the history of the era and how it describes the different ways medicine was practiced then in different cultures. Im a nurse of 40+ years & am fascinated with the science (& lack of science!) that has helped evolve us into how we practice medicine today. Haven’t read the other two books in this trilogy as yet but look forward to taking my time & reading them.
This was a series that sounded good — and it was EVEN BETTER than I thought it would be!!