Set in 1920s Scotland Shannon's Way is a rather charming glimpse into medicine in a time past.

Experimental bacteriologist Dr Robert Shannon is investigating a strange disease effecting people, and also questioning why it seems to follow cows being sick. However he's doing it on his work time, at the expense of work he's meant to be doing which results in him being fired from his fellowship at the university.

Undeterred he seeks employment which will enable him to continue said research on his own time, whilst also drawing the attention of some young ladies.

A quaint and interesting read. ( )

I _love_ this book. I have never read anything by Cronin before, but I will certainly read more.

Shannon's Way is a quiet, complex, simple book of understated beauty and wisdom in the ways of we fallible humans. Everyone who wishes to write excellent prose in English would benefit from reading and studying this book. (Poets would benefit, too.) But more, it is a wonderful read. Real people, real places, situations reflecting real lives. Excellent! ( )

When Dr. Robert Shannon completed medical school he never wanted to be a doctor. Instead he wanted to concentrate on pathological research, especially after identifying a new link between two diseases. His stubborn personality make it hard for him to keep a job while he is trying to complete his research, and the woman he is in love with is not allowed to marry him due to religious differences.

I usually really like Cronin's books, but this one was my least favorite because the main character isn't likeable. He brings all of the bad things in his life on himself, and he doesn't learn from his mistakes. In addition, the ending just tied everything up far too neatly. ( )

I read this in a single night when I was sixteen (and then had to go to school the following day). The tale of a young scientist struggling to crack a difficult problem and the school teacher who loves him is perhaps a little dated but I enjoyed it. I was devastated when Robert Shannon finally made his breakthrough only to be beaten to publication by someone else; it has a happy ending but not the one that I'd been expecting. Another one that's long overdue for a re-read. ( )