The Blood Doctor

By: Barbara Vine

Narrated by: Robert Powell

The First Lord Nanther, expert in blood diseases, particularly the royal disease of Heamophilia, and favoured physician to Queen Victoria, clearly hoped to be the subject of an admiring posthumous biography. But when his great-grandson, Martin Nanther begins to research his life for a biography, the Martin comes to suspect that his great-grandfather’s old records conceal more than they reveal. Henry had been obsessed with blood, to him, blood was a thing of beauty and he could not fathom how anyone could flinch or faint at the sight of it. As Martin’s research deepens, he begins to wonder whether the mysterious deaths of a number of friends and relatives of his great-grandfather really were mere coincidence or did Henry’s fascination with blood have a much darker side?

©2002 Kingsmarkham Enterprises Ltd (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Annoyance

Chapter 10 contains a repeat of several pages. Editing needed here. Story moves slowly enough without the repetition.

Absolutely mesmerizing!

one of the Best Mystery novels I've ever heard! intriguing, complicated, intuitive and so well researched. Brings a not so much discussed part of Victorian history to light.

clever, excellent storytelling

I didn't know what to expect from Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine (except good writing) and feared that this was some kind of gothic horror - but it is an absorbing character-driven story, with a mystery element very secondary. In fact, it's more of a puzzle than a mystery, pieced together in the course of the slowly moving narrative, with storylines nesting inside one another like Russian dolls.

Its tone reminded me a bit of French Lieutenant's Woman: Though not set in Victorian England, it evokes and reflects on that period in a similar way as the main character undertakes a biography of an ancestor. The story of writing the Victorian biography is so convincing that at times I forgot I was listening to fiction.

As another reviewer pointed out, there are serious editing glitches at around hour 5 and 5:45 of part 1 - annoying, but they don't ruin the listen. This is a slow listen - but that can be good - in fact, to me it's the best novel I've heard this past year (out of approximately 30-40).

I love the way her mind works

This is one of my favorite Barbara Vine novels, the other being THE MINOTAUR. This is a very good reader, which makes it a good story well-told in every way.

Central conceit doesn't work

What did you like best about The Blood Doctor? What did you like least?

Because the story is told by a British lord, this doesn't have the strangeness of other Barbara Vine novels. Any delicious weirdness of character, which I so enjoy in other novels Ruth Rendell writes as B.V, is not conveyed by the narrow perspective of the proper upper-class narrator. The biggest disappointment for me, though, was that the motive of the great doctor who is the narrator's ancestor, a motive easily guessed at towards the end and eventually spelled out, is not convincing. And, as another reviewer says, the subplot about the lord's trophy wife's efforts to have a baby soon becomes tiresome. It's meant to, I guess.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The motive of the central figure in the family saga is not fully explained.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Sure.

Any additional comments?

If you're not a fan of Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford, try the altogether different genre of her alter ego Barbara Vine's books. Creepy people hold big secrets for convoluted reasons.