Clifford Halifax

370 p., leaves of plates : 21 cm Stories from the Diary of a Doctor is a collection of 12 Victorian mystery /detective stories from the Strand Magazine, then released in book form in 1894. A second series appeared in 1896. The Diary of a Doctor series has been likened to Sherlock Holmes - the first instalment, 'My First Patient', appeared in the July 1893 edition of The Strand Magazine alongside Conan-Doyle's Holmes story 'The Adventure of the Crooked Man'. The Literary News had this to say on the collection of stories: "Twelve stories, presenting some cases supposed to have come under the direct attention of a young London physician. It is claimed by their collaborating authors that several of the tales included are founded on actual experience, and that all have been written with a close observance to medical facts, and in accordance with the advances made in surgery during the last decade."

The men of Awdry Court have a curse on their line: faced with an event of great violence or emotion, their memories will wipe it away, and they will slowly degenerate in mind and body into an early death. Robert Awdry seems to have avoided the curse until a misunderstanding about the affections of a village maid result in him killing another man in self defense. His memory of the event gone, he allows another man to be punished for the crime and begins to descend into a listless cloud. The famous Dr. Rumsey takes an interest in the case, but what will happen if Awdry regains his memory and has to face his crime?