Nevil Shute Connection
On Nevil Shute's trip to Australia, he offered to fly the local Cairns doctor, Clarke, on his rounds in Northern Queensland. Based on accounts from his daughter, Bev Clarke, it is likely Marcus partly inspired the characters of Jean Paget and Joe Harman in his famous book A Town Like Alice. Paget’s role sees her being captured in Malaya when the Japanese invaded and she wishes to return and help the people who helped save her life. It was on this trip that Shute met Jimmie Edwards (Ringer Edwards), whose wartime experiences of capture, torture, and crucifixion (which he survived) by the Japanese are usually credited to have inspired the character of Joe Harman. Harman meets and marries Paget in the book.
During the trip with Shute around the Gulf country they arrived in one township—just in time for Clarke to deliver a baby. The baby was christened Nevil Marcus. Clarke wondered why Shute had been accorded the primary honour given he had done all the work.
A doctor in one of Shute's books was apparently based on Clarke, perhaps the young country doctor, Dr. Turnbull, in The Rainbow and the Rose or perhaps Carl Zlinter in The Far Country.
Read more about this topic: Marcus Clarke (doctor)
Famous quotes containing the word connection:
“The virtue of art lies in detachment, in sequestering one object from the embarrassing variety. Until one thing comes out from the connection of things, there can be enjoyment, contemplation, but no thought.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)