📚 🚶Introducing A Fortunate Man
Ahead of our walk this Sunday, discover more about our November book
Dear walking book clubbers,
This slim, sharp depiction of life as a country doctor in 1960s Britain is fascinating; I can see why in medical circles (and beyond) it’s regarded as an absolute classic.
I love the way that John Berger’s words are matched with photographs by Jean Mohr, creating this very hybrid work - a conversation between text and pictures. The pair spent six weeks shadowing their friend, Dr John Eskell (Sassall in the book), in the Forest of Dean; the book is comprised of anecdotes and case studies, philosophical digressions and these extraordinarily emotive photographs.
Please scroll down for links to discover more about John Berger, Jean Mohr, and the book.
Our November Discussions
This November, we have three chances to discuss A Fortunate Man:
Sunday 13th November, 11.30-1pm:
Join us for a walk on Hampstead Heath, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB. Please only attend if you’ve read the book!
Monday 14th November, 8-8.40pm
Join us on Zoom - feel free to show up, even if you’ve not read it. This conversation is open to anyone who’s interested.
Friday 25th November, 2-2.30pm
Live Discussion Thread - Join the thread (link will arrive on the day) to discuss the book & share what else you’ve been reading this November.
Buy A Fortunate Man from Daunt Books HERE and receive 10% off using the code WBC at checkout, or just tell them you’re in the group if you’re buying it in the shop.
N.B. A Fortunate Man is a short book and you can zip through it in no time. Our December book, A Touch of Mistletoe by Barbara Comyns is very readable but much longer (at 300 pages) - I would advise getting started on this one sooner rather than later, as our December walk is going to be extra special…
More on John Berger & Jean Mohr
I loved THIS PERSONAL REFLECTION on the book by Professor Gene Feder for the British Journal of General Practice, which is a great introduction to A Fortunate Man. Feder explains how the book captures why he wants to be a doctor: ‘Berger …. illuminated the deep potential of medicine, and particularly general practice, to express solidarity with people as they move through their lives.’
I stumbled upon THIS INCREDIBLY RICH RESOURCE OF A WEBSITE, Reading the Forest. It’s led by academics at the University of Gloucestershire, assisted by local volunteers and is an intriguing website full of information about the literary heritage of the Forest of Dean. Their page on John Berger is full of info and links, including THIS video of their discussion of A Fortunate Man. They mention a film of the book, released in 1972 (not the more recent Danish film of the same title), but unfortunately I can’t find a link to watch or rent it easily anywhere - please send me one if you have it!
I know we have many fans of Slightly Foxed - the small indie publisher of beautiful books and a quarterly journal - among us, not least Sarah, who kindly pointed me towards THIS BEAUTIFUL PIECE on A Fortunate Man by Rose Baring in issue 67 of their journal. Slightly Foxed have kindly removed the paywall for a short time, so do check it out!
Here are two thought-provoking podcasts about the book. There is THIS EPISODE of Between the Lines, in which Dr Lisa Conlan, consultant psychiatrist at The Maudsley discusses how the book changed her. For a contrasting take, HERE on Sunny 16 podcast is photographer Steve Starr talking about how the book inspired his own work.
If you enjoyed the Berger & Mohr collaboration, the good news is that Jean Mohr (on the left in the picture above) and John Berger (on the right) worked together on two more books: A Seventh Man, (1975), about migrant workers in Europe, and Another Way of Telling (1982) about photography itself. If you are after a different type of ‘sequel’, then there is also the diverting new book A Fortunate Woman by Polly Morland, about a doctor in the same place today.
HERE is the wonderful Sukdev Sandhu’s obituary of John Berger in Apollo magazine, and HERE is the New York Times obituary of Jean Mohr.
There is far too much about John Berger to even attempt to cover it all here, but I don’t think we can discuss him without mentioning Ways of Seeing, his landmark book and fantastically approachable BBC TV series, which you can watch here:
Really looking forward to discussing the book with you! Book in for Sunday, Monday or see you on the thread.
What’s next this November?
Emily’s Walking Book Club has been going for a decade now and I am thrilled that we have grown to have over 1,000 members!!! If you can’t make our Hampstead Heath walk on Sunday, fear not, there are plenty of other ways you can join the discussion:
This Sunday 13th, 11.30-1pm we have our Hampstead Heath walking book club - please only attend if you’ve read the book!
Monday 14th, 8-8.40pm, join our Zoom book club - open to all (even if you’ve not quite got around to reading it…):
Monday 21st: Catch up on our discussions: look out for my monthly webcast in your inbox.
Friday 25th: 2-2.30pm Our November Live Discussion Thread about A Fortunate Man and anything else we’ve been reading this month. The link will be in your inbox just before 2. Please show up to this if you can - I was extremely lonely on the thread last month!!
Monday 28th: The November instalment of Our Walkers’ Walks.
December TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE
A Touch of Mistletoe by Barbara Comyns
Some 'mistletoe' for our Christmas meetup! N.B. This book is 300 pages - longer than our usual picks - I’d advise getting started soon…
This wonderful, utterly absorbing novel (not, in fact, a Christmas tale) is about two sisters embarking on adulthood in the interwar years, and the fortunes and misfortunes that befall them.
An alcoholic mother, extreme poverty, awful jobs, childbirth, depression, abortion, the Blitz ... It's a far from cosy novel, but somehow Comyns' calm, wry voice succeeds both in giving weight to the daily tragedies and transforming them into moments of hilarity. Who else could describe a character's 'unwashed knees' as smelling 'of roast chicken', or could state: 'when we children heard the word ‘poorly’ applied to anyone who was ill, perhaps an innocent child suffering with measles, we took it for granted that they had been drinking bottles of port or sherry'?!
At what might be a difficult time for many of us, Comyns' blacker-than-black humour is a vital tonic.
On the Heath: Sunday 11th December, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB. N.B. Watch this space for a seasonal surprise on our walk…
On Zoom: Monday 12th November, 8-8.40pm
Live Discussion Thread: Friday 16th December, 2-2.30pm (Note the different date)
Buy A Touch of Mistletoe from Daunt Books HERE and receive 10% off using the code WBC at checkout, or just tell them you’re in the group if you’re buying it in the shop.
Happy reading!
Emily