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Currently out of print, The Houseman's Tale, by the doctor and former BMJ columnist Colin Douglas, is a bawdy, but often affecting, hospital romp. Set in an Edinburgh hospital in the mid 1970s, the novel exploits every comic opportunity, including the misadventures of young doctors and nurses in their free time as much as mishaps on the ward. But perhaps the book is ill served by the cartoon on the cover of some editions; for all its outlandish situations, The Houseman's Tale has the ring of authenticity, and rarely descends into outright spoof.
The book is fascinating for its evocations...