The Convenient

by Albert Marsolais, Bettyanne Twigg

Overview

Convenient, mistress, whore (B.E.) Cant expression of standard meaning, favorable to one’s comfort.

Malcolm Forrester a physician from Edinburgh, and Elspeth MacLeod, a healer from the Isle of Skye, were both educated in European universities, but only men are permitted to practice medicine in the Scotland of 1705.  The two collide in Torrport, a small town near Edinburgh,

Elspeth stubbornly seeking recognition as a physician, and Malcolm searching for a cure for smallpox amid the swirling vortex of war, politics, religion and disease.  Poverty and misadventure are ever-present, and medicine a curious blend of old beliefs and new discoveries.  Elspeth delivers a beautiful young woman of her bastard child and suspects she was poisoned. When the Laird’s Second-in-Command is found dead, kneeling face-down in a tub at the laundry, the two find themselves entangled in murder, smuggling, and espionage, amid powerful opposition that resists change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781775106104
Publisher:	Albert Marsolais
Publication date:	11/14/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	348
File size:	512 KB
Age Range:	11 - 16 Years

About the Author

Retired scientist and businessman who worked in the field of genetics and biotechnology. He lives in Ontario, Canada with his wife Laurel.
Bettyanne is a curator and objects conservator who specializes in antique dolls and toys. She and her husband live in the mountains of Maryland, with their dog, Pepper and sundry feral cats.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

The Convenient. 1

Copyright. 2

Dedication. 3

Table of Contents. 2

Preface. 4

Epigraph. 5

Part One. 6

One. 7

Two. 24

Three. 34

Four. 49

Five. 54

Six. 61

Seven. 67

Eight. 70

Nine. 78

Part Two. 95

Ten. 96

Eleven. 107

Twelve. 120

Thirteen. 129

Fourteen. 150

Fifteen. 161

Sixteen. 183

Seventeen. 198

Part Three. 222

Eighteen. 223

Nineteen. 238

Twenty. 257

Twenty-One. 270

Twenty-Two. 288

Twenty-Three. 299

Twenty-Four. 314

Twenty-Five. 330

Epilogue. 342

Historical Notes. 343

Cast Of Characters. 345

Acknowledgement 347

About the Authors. 348

 

Editorial Reviews

"The authors use real situations to inspire an eventful novel of medical heroism, murder, and much more. Overall, readers will find this a captivating story." -BlueInk Reviews

"Marsolais and Twigg pack their novel with an impressive amount of research...A convincing window into a particularly vibrant period of Scottish history." -Kirkus Reviews

"The Convenient is a work of fiction in the historical, drama, and medical mystery sub-genres, and was penned by author duo Albert Marsolais and Bettyanne Twigg. The book is intended for adult reading audiences owing to some graphic medical content, moderate gore, and sexual references. Set at the turn of the eighteenth century, this engaging and unique story chronicles the history and mystery of doctors in Scotland at a time when gender bias runs rife. As Malcolm and Elspeth both try to forge their careers with different obstacles ahead of them, a series of suspicious dead bodies lead them into a ring of underground crime, and a regime resistant to change.

Author team Albert Marsolais and Bettyanne Twigg have crafted a totally engrossing historical murder mystery like nothing I've ever read before. The setting is unique, specifically focusing on a very well-researched niche of Scottish life, medicine, and sociocultural factors at a time when modernity was just rearing its head. I loved the central characters, and there was a strong commitment to close narration and character development that showed them both in all their triumphs and their flaws. The prose was smoothly penned and easy to immerse oneself in, and the atmospheric descriptive work really gives a cinematic sense of the historical time period in all its gruesome glory. Overall, I would highly recommend The Convenient to both fans of historical fiction and those who love a good medical murder mystery: a most accomplished work in a league of its own." -Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

From the Publisher

2018-01-05
In this debut novel set in 18th-century Scotland, a group of physicians gets caught up in disease, murder, and political intrigue.As smallpox sweeps through Edinburgh, headstrong physician Malcolm Forrester is determined to run a study to test one of his hypotheses: that inoculating people with smallpox scabs will make them immune to the illness. Some physicians gather with him to use themselves as test subjects, but they face violent opposition from Sir Robert Turnbull, the change-fearing head of the College of Physicians; radical clerics; and the captain of the guard, Donald Mackmain, who believes the doctors are meddling with God's will. Meanwhile, a "healer" named Elspeth MacLeod arrives in the Scottish village of Torrport to take on some of Malcolm's patients, and quickly gets entangled in local intrigue. A woman named Lady Julianne, a relation of the leader Laird MacDuff, arrives at Elspeth's door one rainy night and gives birth to a premature baby. After examining the woman, who survives, Elspeth suspects Julianne was poisoned. Then the laird's second-in-command, Capt. John Spence, is found face down in a laundry tub, dead, with a bar of soap in his mouth. When Malcolm and Elspeth attempt to investigate who would want Julianne and Spence dead and why, they uncover surprising hidden ties between certain residents of the town and the Russian czar. Marsolais and Twigg pack their novel with an impressive amount of research on a very specific place and time (the spring of 1705) and its clothing, weaponry, and transportation. They also include a wealth of details about practicing medicine in that period: everything from the accepted way to treat a fistula to the era's surgical instruments. While some of the political context has the ring of a textbook and Malcolm's speech is riddled with comma splices ("Can't blame him, he's a wife and family, the rest of us are young with no dependents, expendable"), the tale is filled with lively sword fights, Scottish brogues, and colorful characters. Elspeth is especially memorable: she's gutsy and competent, chafing against a bygone century's restrictions on female physicians. A convincing window into a particularly vibrant period of Scottish history.

Kirkus Review