Testimony of Two Men: A Novel (Rediscovered Classics)

An embattled young doctor, an angry and divided Pennsylvania town, a turn-of-the-century national scandal--out of these turbulent elements Taylor Caldwell crafted a major novel, a massively detailed chronicle of love, death, redemption, and the rise of modern medicine. First published in 1968, it spent ten months on the New York Times bestseller list and was made into a highly praised and fondly remembered 1977 miniseries.

            Testimony of Two Men tells the story of Jonathan Ferrier, a brilliant physician hounded by his tragic past and threatened present. The capricious healer of Hambledon, Dr. Ferrier remains an enigma to all. Even a sympathetic young outsider--Dr. Robert Morgan, fresh from Johns Hopkins--is hard pressed to separate the facts from the lies. But everyone knows that Ferrier’s wife--a girlish and near-legendary beauty named Mavis--died in grisly circumstances.

            In unraveling Ferrier’s terrible secret, Caldwell brings into play an astonishing range of characters: the lusty, laughing, almost demoniac Mavis, whose memory haunts her husband; Dr. Ferrier’s gentle and indomitable mother, the grande dame of Hambledon; likeable but corrupt brother Harald and silent and brooding “niece” Jenny; and the powerful politicians who plot to destroy the despised doctor. To these men and women, Taylor Caldwell brings compassionate yet cynical observations that culminate in her most accomplished and memorable work of fiction.