The Animal Doctor

Monday 18 March 2013

The Animal Doctor - Part One

Cover

Page vi

The Animal Doctor by Laurence Meynell was illustrated by Raymond Sheppard and is one in a series called "Oxford Career Books". The series included the following titles spread over two decades as far as I can trace:

STUDENTS AT QUEEN’S by John Stuart Arey, 1944
THE FIRST TRIPPER by Peter Dawlish, 1947 (Illustrated by P. A. Jobson and the topic was the Merchant Navy) - more on Dawlish and Raymond Sheppard another day
THE YOUNG SCHOOLMASTER by Aubrey de Selincourt, 1948 (illustrated by F.W. Middlehurst)
THE MONDAY STORY by James Leasor, 1951 (Illustrated by Evadné Rowan).
POLICEMAN IN THE FAMILY by Laurence Walter Meynell, 1953 (illustrated by Neville Dear)
AN ACTOR’S LIFE FOR ME by Roland Pertwee, 1953 (Illustrated by T. R. Freeman)
HOTEL DOORWAY by Lorna Lewis, 1953 (Illustrated by Charlotte Hough)
THE ANIMAL DOCTOR by Laurence Meynell, 1956 (illustrated by Raymond Sheppard)
THE YOUNG ARCHITECT by Laurence Walter Meynell, 1958

The blurb states "Each book combines a ﬁrst-rate story with authentic details about a particular career." and 'story' should be taken literally. Meynell had many pseudonyms and wrote as a man and a woman! He was born in 1899 and died in 1989 and is most well known for his thrillers and some of his books were made into films. His fascinating story can be read online so there's no point in me re-telling it. His bibliography can been seen together with a photo here, and Steve Holland has a small gallery of Meynell's thriller covers. His obituary appeared in the Times of Tuesday 18 April 1989. He appeared to be a tidy man even in death leaving £286,286 in his will!