Dear and Glorious Physician

The fictionalised story of the life of St Luke, a Greek doctor who wrote one of the gospels and the book of Acts. I usually like this sort of thing, but this one just didn’t work for me. Lucanus didn’t seem realistic to me. He was incredibly moral and a miraculously skilled physician devoted to the welfare of the poor and needy, and that part makes sense. But it seemed unnecessary for him to also be aware of Jesus Christ from the moment of his birth, stunningly beautiful, a martial arts master who can defeat Olympic wrestlers in one second, a brilliant athlete, and beloved of the Emperor even though he met the man once and was not polite. And a Roman slave noted that Lucanus had the palest skin he’d ever seen - that makes zero show more sense, a Greek man who’d just returned from spending four years in Egypt would not be particularly pale, and the only reason to put that in is the fucked up notion that because he’s the hero, he must be super white. Whiter than any other character! Ugh. And the undertones of racism, misogyny, and homophobia meant this wasn’t a very pleasant reading experience even though I maybe should have been expecting it from a book written in the ‘50s. show less

Generally, I like historical novels, especially ones that are biblically based. I also like doctor novels. I expected to love this book, and I did -- most of it. Some niggly parts niggled -- treatments I am pretty sure didn't exist at the time, miraculous healings, and some attitudes that were pretty common in the 1950s when the book was written.

This is the telling of the story of Luke, the dear and glorious physician of the title. The problem is that Luke is too perfect. Except for his rebellion against God, Luke is the ultimate athlete, great doctor, handsome, favored by the emperor, and wealthy. It felt like gilding the lily.

Still, it was a good book with so much positive to share. Sometimes I think with a book that is so good, the show more niggly things show up as a more of an issue because you wish the book were perfect.

If you like biblical fiction, I think you will like this book. show less

A somewhat old-fashioned although beautifully written book. This novel tells the story of St. Luke, called herein Lucanus, from childhood, adoption by a kindly Roman patrician as the latter's son, medical studies in Alexandria, to his wanderings to serve the poor. He comes to a belief in Christ as Messiah after railing against God for years because of the deaths of loved ones and the cruelty of men against others. He has the marvelous idea to write down what he hears about Christ. The prose is really purple [I'm surprised my hands aren't stained :)] and it does get a tad sentimental at times. It's a moving novel nonetheless and well worth reading. This might make a good choice for Lent.

The pace is slow, like other novels of yesteryear, show more but oh, Ms. Caldwell could really write. She made St. Luke human for me, and not a dusty historical figure. If you look at it with the eyes of today scrutinizing anything historical it comes up short, but everything else makes up for any inaccuracies. Luke's interviews of Biblical figures in the Christ story are fascinating: Pilate, John and James, and the Virgin Mary. The testimony of his brother, Priscus, a Roman soldier at the crucifixion, is especially poignant. show less

Phew! They don't write "em like this anymore. So slow and ponderous that I kept it as my bed-time book....subsequently it took me about 3 months to read!! Incredible vocabulary that kept me guiltily running for my dictionary to make sure I could remember what peculid meant, or other hoary terms....but still I"m glad I read it. I guess in her (?) day, Taylor Caldwell stirred quite a pot --- and this was a huge best seller in its time. Intelligent, incredibly well-written (but SLOW), and entertaining for any fan of historical fiction -- particularly if you like the ancient world. As a fictional bio of St. Luke it only got a bit preachy for me at the end.....when Luke meets up with Mary (the mother of....you know Who). Other than that, show more great entertainment, kind of like watching "The Ten Commandments" with Charlton Heston, only in book form!!! show less

Taylor Caldwell has chosen the grand, the splendid means to tell of St. Luke. Her own travels through the Holy Land and years of meticulous research made Dear and Glorious Physician a fully developed portrait of a complex and brilliant man and a colorful re-creation of ancient Roman life as it contrasted in its decadence with the new world Christianity was bringing into being. Here is a story to warm, to inspire, to call forth renewal of faith and love lying deep in each reader's heart.

If you want to get a sense of what it was like around the time of Jesus's death, the early spread of Christianity, this is an excellent book. It's about the life of Saint Luke and how he fought against God and Christianity but came to embrace them and wrote his gospel.

If you want to get a sense of what it was like around the time of Jesus's death, the early spread of Christianity, this is an excellent book. It's about the life of Saint Luke and how he fought against God and Christianity but came to embrace them and wrote his gospel.