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Back The Art of Dying Save as PDF
Chapters (90)
  1. PROLOGUE
  2. 1849
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. EDINBURGH
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. FIFTY-FIVE
  59. FIFTY-SIX
  60. FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. FIFTY-NINE
  63. SIXTY
  64. SIXTY-ONE
  65. SIXTY-TWO
  66. SIXTY-THREE
  67. SIXTY-FOUR
  68. SIXTY-FIVE
  69. SIXTY-SIX
  70. SIXTY-SEVEN
  71. SIXTY-EIGHT
  72. SIXTY-NINE
  73. SEVENTY
  74. SEVENTY-ONE
  75. SEVENTY-TWO
  76. SEVENTY-THREE
  77. SEVENTY-FOUR
  78. SEVENTY-FIVE
  79. SEVENTY-SIX
  80. SEVENTY-SEVEN
  81. SEVENTY-EIGHT
  82. SEVENTY-NINE
  83. EIGHTY
  84. EIGHTY-ONE
  85. EPILOGUE
  86. HISTORICAL NOTE
  87. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  88. Extract from A Corruption of Blood
  89. 1850
  90. ONE

She had acceded, but he detected a degree of reluctance and recalled what she had confided in him. Every moment she spent with Archie was precious and yet simultaneously painful. The idea of her suffering made him want to hold her, but he had to put such thoughts from his mind. That way lay only confusion and anguish. He had missed his opportunity and he would have to learn to live with that.

Also unspoken was Raven’s concern that he now knew they were dealing with someone highly dangerous, and therefore he did not wish to put Sarah in harm’s way. He had woken up many a night tormented by thoughts of how close she had come to death once before – how close they both had – due to Raven failing to see what was right in front of him.

He had missed so much that ought to have been obvious in this recent enterprise too. Raven wondered how many enduring misapprehensions in medicine (and other fields, for that matter) were down to ambition and the desire to be vindicated. How many proud men had only sought out the evidence in support of their own hypotheses and eschewed that which might inconveniently put their ideas to the test?

The world needed fewer such proud men, or perhaps it merely required more women like Sarah. An increase in the latter would guarantee a reduction in the former.

Raven had been foolish, he could see that now, and he was grateful to Sarah for revealing it. His visions of being lauded for finding a new disease were unworthy, for in truth he had hoped such a discovery would hasten his elevation. There were no quick paths to success or renown, and nor should he seek them.

Simpson had discovered chloroform not by mere happenstance and serendipity, but as a cumulative consequence of a lifetime’s endeavours and its accumulated wisdom of judgment. That was what James Matthews Duncan ought to grasp too. ‘No man can ever reach great reputation or great excellence without great exertion,’ as Simpson often said in his lectures.

As he strode along Easter Road, Raven reflected that the pursuit of medical knowledge could also take quite a toll on one’s shoe leather. What made it even harder on the feet right then was the possibility that this was likely to be a wasted trip. In that respect he was grateful for the fog, for it might be what kept Mary Dempster indoors on a Sunday after church; if, that is, she was not still resident with her new employer.