Stars Look Down - Hardcover

Cronin, A. J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0575034335 ISBN 13: 9780575034334

Publisher: Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, 1984

Synopsis

Robert Fenwick is a miner, and so are his three sons. His wife is proud that all her four men go down the mines. But David, the youngest, is determined that somehow he will educate himself and work to ameliorate the lives of his comrades. who ruin their health to dig the nation's coal and are treated with such inhumanity when they try to better their miserable wages or the appalling conditions in which they work. The conflicts and tensions are dramatic and moving: David's unselfish battle for his fellow-miners; his deadly struggle with the owner of the mine, a cold, sanctimonious man who is directly responsible—in a disaster which is described with unforgettable poignancy—for the death of ten of his workmen; David's love for Jenny, the pretty little nonentity who ruthlessly exploits him; and the greedy, unscrupulous Joe Gowlan, finally master of them all. The Stars Look Down was A. J. Cronin's fourth novel, and, with its epic tale of a north country mining family, has always been one of his most popular For this novel A. J. Cronin drew on his experiences as a general practitioner in a small mining town. He observed the people, pitied and admired them, and his novel is not only exciting but written with compassion and knowledge. When it was first published, the Irish Times described it as, 'The best novel that. Dr Cronin has yet written; wider in scope, deeper in human sympathy, and greater in the totality of its achievement A great novel. It may, indeed, come to be regarded as the great novel of its period'—and the continuing demand and fame of the book show that this high opinion was not exaggerated.

About this title

About the Author

A. J. Cronin was born in Scotland in 1896. In 1914 he entered the Faculty of Medicine at Glasgow University, but his studies were interrupted by war service as a surgeon sub-lieutenant in the Navy. He graduated in 1919, and was later appointed Medical Inspector of Mines. He practised medicine in London until ill-health made him return to literature, and he wrote many hugely successful novels, including the famous Dr Finlay series. He was married with three sons, and died in 1981.

Edition details

• Publisher: Littlehampton Book Services Ltd
• Publication date: 1984
• ISBN 10: 0575034335
• ISBN 13: 9780575034334
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 508