Young Dr. Kildare is the first in a popular series of eight novels by writer Max Brand, beginning in 1940 and finishing in 1943. One of the most prolific writers of all time, he wrote more than 500 novels. Alongside Zane Grey, the western section of any bookstore is usually packed with Max Brand titles.
Young Dr. Kildare introduces us to Jimmy Kildare, as his parents and friends prepare to welcome him back to his hometown. Having just graduated a Doctor, his father is anxious to share a medical practice with him in the family home. Not to be, as Jimmy is already so engrossed in his practicum duties that he can't relax - even calling the hospital with newly inspired treatment methods while off duty. The thing about Kildare is he is usually right, diagnosing and discovering treatments no one had thought of that indeed save patients lives. The head of the hospital, Dr. Gillespie, is a brilliant man but a crusty old coot, and although he clashes with Kildare, he also sees him as the worthy successor to his position.
The central drama in Young Dr. Kildare concerns a probable overdose patient no one can reach. When she is lucid she rejects her wealthy 'society' family, feeling the secret which led her to this hospital would ruin them all. It turns out that while she was bored with her fiancé, she went to a party and was offered 'reefer'. After four cigarettes, she was out of her mind and woke up in a seedy room above the bar frequented by addicts and girls of ill repute. She thought the worst. Kildare has an ingenious way of bringing her out of darkness, and with a little detective work, uncovering exactly what happened.
Written in 1938, it has a light breezy style on the surface, with engrossing characters and a real sense of the social mores of the 1930's underneath. Dr. Kildare was such a popular series, it was made into a long running MGM movie series, radio programs, comics, and the TV series that ran for 5 seasons in the early 1960's that made Richard Chamberlain a star.
The image shown here is from the Dell Map Back series (#329, with a map of the key rooms involved in the story). The copy I read was published by Triangle Books in 1941.
I sometimes wonder why I read a book at a certain time, and look for a common thread. The last book was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, about a possessed house in Hillsdale. Jimmy Kildare went to medical school in Hillsdale.
1938 / Hardcover/ 237 pages
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