''Magnificent Obsession'' is a 1929 novel by American author Lloyd C. Douglas. It was one of four of his books that were eventually made into blockbuster motion pictures, the other three being ''

The Robe ''The Robe'' is a 1942 historical novel about the Crucifixion of Jesus, written by Lloyd C. Douglas. The book was one of the best-selling titles of the 1940s. It entered the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list in October 1942, four weeks late ...

'', ''

White Banners ''White Banners'' is a 1938 Warner Bros. drama film directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Claude Rains, Fay Bainter, Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, Henry O'Neill, and Kay Johnson. Produced by Henry Blanke and Hal B. Wallis, the screenplay wa ...

'' and ''

The Big Fisherman ''The Big Fisherman'' is a 1959 American historical drama film directed by Frank Borzage about the life of Simon Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus. Starring Howard Keel, Susan Kohner and John Saxon, the production is adapted from the 1948 no ...

''.

Plot summary

Robert Merrick is resuscitated by a rescue crew after a boating accident. The crew is thus unable to save the life of Dr. Hudson, a physician renowned for his ability to help people, who was having a heart attack at the same time on the other side of the lake. Merrick then decides to devote his life to making up for the doctor's, and becomes a physician himself. Mrs. Hudson, the widow, moves to Europe after her daughter Joyce is married. Merrick progresses in his career, and in the story's climax, gets involved in a railway accident in which Mrs. Hudson suffers serious injury. Merrick is instrumental in her recovery, and Merrick and Mrs. Hudson subsequently marry.

Inspiration

The story behind the novel, and the identity of the surgeon on whose life it is based, is mentioned in articles in the American Association of Neurosurgeons' journal ''AANS Neurosurgeon''
Magnificent Obsession
an
"Inspirations and Epiphanies"
The theme of the book is based on a passage from the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...

(chapter 6:1-4):

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.....That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly."

The philosophy behind the book is also partly that of "

pay it forward Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others instead of to the original benefactor. The concept is old, but the particular phrase may have been coined by Lily Hardy Hammond in her 1 ...

", the idea that good deeds received are not to be paid back to the doer of the deed, but to a needing person in the future.

''Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal''

Douglas later wrote a book in response to the flood of letters he received from readers who wanted to know where they could find the book to which he referred in the novel, ''Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal''. The Robert Merrick character decoded the journal, from which he learned the secret of his extraordinary success as a doctor. (According to the book, the secret was the literal practice of doing good deeds secretly, and thereby reaping spiritual power to use in becoming an excellent doctor.)

Adaptations

*''

Magnificent Obsession ''Magnificent Obsession'' is a 1929 novel by American author Lloyd C. Douglas. It was one of four of his books that were eventually made into blockbuster motion pictures, the other three being '' The Robe'', '' White Banners'' and ''The Big Fisher ...

'', a 1935 film. *''

'', a 1954 film directed by

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left fo ...

. *'' Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal'', a television drama which aired in syndication from 1955 to 1957 (78 episodes).

External links

*
Magnificent Obsession
' available freely at the ''

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

of Australia'' website. 1929 American novels American novels adapted into films American novels adapted into television shows 1929 debut novels