''Shannon's Way'' is a 1948 novel by Scots author,

A. J. Cronin Archibald Joseph Cronin (19 July 1896 – 6 January 1981), known as A. J. Cronin, was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is ''The Citadel'' (1937), about a Scottish doctor who serves in a Welsh mining village before achievi ...

. It continues the story of Robert Shannon from Cronin's previous novel, ''

The Green Years ''The Green Years'' is a 1944 novel by A. J. Cronin which traces the formative years of an Irish orphan, Robert Shannon, who is sent to live with his draconian maternal grandparents in Scotland. An introspective child, Robert forms an attachme ...

'' (1944).

Plot summary

Robert trains to be a doctor at the fictional Levenford Infirmary (Levenford is loosely based on

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

), and falls in love with Jean Law, a young medical student belonging to the Plymouth Brethren who rejects him when she discovers that he has deceived her about his history and religion (he is a Roman Catholic). He develops an interest in a disease contracted from infected cows' milk, and devotes his spare time to researching it: it turns out to be

brucellosis Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat from infected animals, or close contact with their secretions. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever. The ...

. Dr. Shannon contracts a nervous breakdown when he completes the project only to find that someone else has anticipated his results, and is nursed by and marries Jean.

External links

Text of ''Shannon's Way''
1948 British novels Novels by A. J. Cronin Medical novels Medical romance novels Scottish romance novels Novels set in Scotland Dumbarton Victor Gollancz Ltd books Little, Brown and Company books British novels adapted into television shows Ryerson Press books {{1940s-romance-novel-stub