Title: A Matter of Doubt: The Life of Claude Bernard
Author: Peter Wise
Publisher: Amazon Kindle
ASBN: B005BQYPPO
File size: 733 KB
Genre: Historical Novels
Reviewed by: Barbara Miller, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
Have you ever stared into a Renoir painting, seeing fashionable 19th century French women dressed in ornate gowns, with distinguished gentlemen in tailcoats and tall hats, crossing a damp and shiny cobblestone road with horse-drawn carriages in the background, umbrellas opened, wondering who were these people? It is very possible one of the men may have been Monsieur Claude Bernard.Peter Wise has used words to the skill level of Pierre-Auguste Renoir‘s use of paint, creating a literary book embellishing a world, a period-piece, with complex human emotions, determination, drive and passion, along with respectful conversational French dialogue in his epic work A Matter of Doubt – the life of Claude Bernard. He has created a hybrid work of fiction based upon fact; a world in which novel relationships are verbosely explained pursuant to generally accepted historical encounters.
A Matter of Doubt articulates, from a third-person narrative view, the life of Claude Bernard and how he was heavily influenced in his logic and reason by René Descartes, the famous French philosopher who questioned “everything.” This led Descartes to become one of the key figures of the creation of what we call today the Scientific Method. Claude Bernard used the practice, not taking anything on face value, and performed blind-experimentation to support his medical research, thus becoming one of humanity’s most accomplished doctors shedding light on many aspects of the human condition of health and well-being. Although controversial even at the time, Claude Bernard used animal experimentation to an extreme, upsetting his wife and daughters, which ultimately led to a divorce; however being convinced the greater good to relieve humanity of disease, justified the use of vivisection.
A Matter of Doubt begins when Claude Bernard moved to Paris to study medicine as a young adult, working as a pharmacist to make ends meet while writing a play and dreaming about becoming a famous playwright. His dichotomy of interests, so eloquently portrayed by Peter Wise, captures the reader and draws one into the world of yesteryear, a time less complicated by the limits of technology, however as modern a group of people as those of us that live today. Peter Wise’s use of language, with his precision, coy remarks of the wonderfully credible characters, and significance of respectful interactions is unlike much of the mundane use of verbiage we read and use today. He truly pulls the reader back in time, like the Time Machine in the H. G. Wells classic, into the mid-1800’s, and drops you among the upper society in Paris, France, amidst famous people like Louis Pasteur.
When reading this book I was pleasantly transported away from modern day life and rewarded with gaining an intimate understanding of the strength of values, fortitude and determination of Claude Bernard, holding a higher appreciation for the medical breakthroughs he now is accredited as founding. The brilliance of Peter Wise’s writing skills are truly amazing, being so presumptuously respectful of the reader’s intelligence while still explaining the fundamentals of the factual evidence portrayed in the scientific medical work. Although a very sophisticated book, I would recommend this for young adults to read as an example of excellence in technique, as well as to the seasoned historical reader; or anyone for that matter, seeking entertainment while being educated. Having a background in French is helpful, as this book seamlessly jumps from French to English with phrases, names and most interestingly uses the thought patterns of the marvelous French culture in describing events. I believe this book is also available translated into French. C’est un très bon livre!
