The Devil Doctor

Rohmer, Sax, 1883-1959Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 424K words
Chapters: 43

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Devil Doctor by Sax RohmerAuthor: Rohmer, Sax, 1883-1959,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 29, 2006

Editor's review

The Devil Doctor is one of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu novels, a typical product of early twentieth-century British popular adventure fiction. The story continues the framework of a mysterious villain pitted against detective-style adversaries, driven by suspense, pursuit, and thrilling set pieces. It is highly readable and reflects how popular literature of the time consumed exotic imaginings and fears. As a document of genre fiction, it helps illuminate early twentieth-century mass reading tastes and the narrative habits of the colonial era. It must be noted, however, that the book's treatment of Chinese characters carries pronounced racial stereotypes, a long-standing criticism of the series. Today it is best read with a critical eye, as material for cultural and literary history rather than pure entertainment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying early English popular literature and genre fiction
Those interested in early twentieth-century mass cultural history
Readers who want to understand the origins and controversies of the Fu Manchu figure

Not a good fit for

Readers sensitive to racially stereotyped content
Readers expecting the rigorous deduction of modern detective fiction
Those seeking light entertainment and unwilling to engage with controversial material

Reading tips

Before reading, learn about the historical controversies surrounding the Fu Manchu figure and approach the text critically.
Consider excerpting descriptions of characters and exotic settings as samples for analyzing stereotypes.
There is no need to read it in one sitting; proceed chapter by chapter and note how suspense and narrative pacing are constructed.
After finishing, consult related cultural criticism and compare it with your own reading experience.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How does this book relate to the Fu Manchu series?

The Devil Doctor is one of Sax Rohmer's novels featuring Fu Manchu as the central villain. The series was popular in early twentieth-century British popular fiction, created an enduringly stereotyped Chinese villain, and has become a frequently discussed case in later cultural criticism.

Is the content controversial when read today?

Yes. The book's portrayal of Chinese characters and exotic cultures carries pronounced racial stereotypes, the core issue for which the Fu Manchu series has long been criticized. It is best read today as a historical text, with attention to its narrative conventions and period attitudes rather than endorsement of its portrayals.

Is it suitable as English-learning material?

As early twentieth-century popular fiction, the book is generally fluent in language and clearly plot-driven, and readers with a basic foundation in English can attempt it. But it contains period-specific expressions and stereotyped descriptions, so learners should read it with background knowledge and avoid treating its language as neutral models.

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About the author

Rohmer, Sax, 1883-1959 Author

Sax Rohmer (Rohmer, Sax, 1883-1959) was a British writer best known for creating the character Fu Manchu. Public information about the details of his life is limited, but the seventeen works held in the collection show that he was mainly active in the field of popular fiction in the first half of the twentieth century, skilled at blending suspense, horror and exotic adventure. Representative works such as The Hand of Fu-Manchu and The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu formed a series of stories around Fu Manchu, while The Golden Scorpion, Bat Wing and The Yellow Claw show his continuing interest in criminal conspiracies and mysterious incidents; titles such as Brood of the Witch-Queen and The Haunting of Low Fennel also reveal a Gothic horror flavor. His narrative pace is brisk and his plots are eerie, and he has had a certain influence on later thriller and detective writing.