The Betrothed, a novel written by Alessandro Manzoni and first published in 1827, is an expression of the author’s interest in early seventeenth-century Italian history in the form of an accurate, literary explication of historical events, religious life, and social structures in the northern regions of the country at that time.
Sealed in!
May evenings in Mumbai, India are hot and sticky. You are always drenched in sweat and the wet heat is decidedly uncomfortable. Ceiling fans make ineffectual attempts to dissipate the enervating heat.
Reading Arrowsmith During the 2020 Pandemic
By J. Russell Teagarden Reading the 1925 novel Arrowsmith during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic reveals many parallels that can make us wonder if the outcomes of pandemics will forever be …
Memories of the Spanish Flu
My time spent in the army now seems to me like a long, complex dream. The events are all familiar, but you cannot be sure whether they really happened. After a very brief period of basic training in New Jersey, I was stationed in South Carolina as a physician at a small army base.
Medicine as spectacle: Public expectations of physicians as seen through art and television
If “all the worlds a stage,” then the operating theater is no different. Surgeons of the Renaissance and nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, despite the modern day medical profession’s emphasis on privacy, stoicism, and quiet dignity, were historically required, not only to heal, but to entertain.
High Anxiety: Going Viral?
By Howard Trachtman, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Co-editor, LitMed Database. Jenny Offill’s new book, Weather was reviewed in the New York Times and other …
End-of-Life Dreams & Visions
There’s a memorable poignancy to the beginning of your book. The nurse Nancy tells you, with gritty certitude, that a forty-year-old, HIV-positive man is terminally ill and dying
The Height of the Storm: When A Play Is as Jazz Does
The Height of the Storm, a play by Florian Zeller, can be interpreted as a fusion of two artistic genres to tell a story; in this case dramatic theater and jazz. In his essay, Russell Teagarden explores how jazz, with its variations on rhythm and themes, is embedded in the play’s structure, and how in the end, the play is as jazz does.
Saving Grace
Expecting to call in my next patient, the staff instead called me. My patient had become explosive, thrashing about in the waiting area, prompting a call to 911.