THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER, by Vanessa Matthews
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THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER, by Vanessa Matthews
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A prominent psychiatrist's daughter realises insanity can be found much closer to home when she unlocks secrets from the past that threaten to destroy her future.
It's 1927, women have the right to vote and morals are slackening, but 23-year-old Marta Rosenblit is not a typical woman of her time. She has little connection with her elder sisters, her mother has been detained in an asylum since Marta was born and she has spent her life being shaped as her father Arnold's protégé. She is lost, unsure of who she is and who she wants to be. Primarily set in Vienna, this dark tale follows her journey of self-discovery as she tries to step out of her father's shadow and find her identity in a man's world. Her father's friend Dr Leopold Kaposi is keen to help her make her name, but his interest is not purely professional and his motivations pose greater risks than she could possibly know. Marta's chance encounter in a café leads to a new friendship with young medical graduate Elise Saloman, but it soon turns out that Elise has some secrets of her own. When Marta's shock discovery about her family story coincides with her mother's apparent suicide, Marta can't take anymore. Nobody she has grown to love and trust is who they seem. Her professional plans unravel, her relationships are in tatters and her sanity is on the line - and one person is behind it all.
THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER, by Vanessa Matthews- Published on: 2015-06-23
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x .70" w x 5.51" l, .85 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 334 pages
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Evocative and captivating By Michael Nail for gimmethatbook This review originally appeared on my blog at www.gimmethatbook.com.Thanks to the author for offering me this book for review!Prepare to be immersed in a dark world of offbeat people, misogyny and emotion. Marta is a tortured soul struggling to become her own woman and out from under her father’s thumb. Matthews paints an eerie image of a sheltered and awkward heroine, someone the reader can cheer for and support.As she hesitantly takes steps toward independence, Marta must learn about love, sex, trust, and the truth, no matter how much this knowledge hurts her. Her circumstances seem to sweep her along, regardless of her wishes, as Leopold initiates her in the way of the world — that world being 1920’s Vienna, where most women have yet to find their own voice. Marta’s confusion and vulnerability is described flawlessly, as well as her demons lurking within.As her relationship with Leopold mutates into a joyless union, Marta finds a way to visit her mother (who has been locked away in an asylum since Marta’s birth). The scenes with her mother are heartrending and melancholic, yet full of love. Marta’s confusion about the woman she has thought about all her life looms large as she confronts the allegations made by Leopold, and there, her questions begin. Soon after, the plot twists start and the action picks up a great deal. The “secrets from the past” alluded to in the book’s blurb are grim and shocking–Marta has decisions to make and we see her maturing and taking control of her life.Despite the book’s dreary countenance, THE DOCTOR’S DAUGHTER was riveting. The attitudes of the times were described perfectly, and the characters were believably evil and self centered. The character of Marta personifies someone who has inner demons, borne all her life on her own. Her sisters shun her and she is motherless, hence she finds solitude in the dark places of her mind, and with physical solutions that enhance her somber nature.I found this book evocative and captivating.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Well-crafted, Suspense-filled Story By Chloe Jelane The Doctor's Daughter is a compelling read. At first, I thought it would largely focus on Marta's dysfunctional relationship with her misogynistic father, renowned psychiatrist Arnold Rosenblit, but slowly came to realize that there was much more to this well-crafted story.I was intrigued by Dr. Rosenblit's studies:"Tonight we shall examine the topic of gender. New research has come out of America that suggests one's gender identity may not be an issue of biology alone, but psychology too. I am eager to establish my own study and measure the perception of gender against the imposition of societal norms." He goes on to say, "...what if gender is little more than social phenomenon?" And, "What if our sexed bodies are not as essential to our construction of gender roles as we might believe?"However, Rosenblit's arrogance and disrespect towards Marta caused me to dislike him throughout most of the novel:"You have a brilliant mind my daughter, of that I have no doubt. However, you are a disciple. You are not a leader. Women, even intelligent ones, are not destined to lead...Perhaps your ideas are early manifestations of mental illness. Have you ever wondered if you are not in your right mind? Delusions of grandeur; yes that's what they call it, or I suppose it could be megalomania."Marta, on the other hand, is a character that I was pulling for throughout. She's plain in comparison to her sisters who've all been married off (sort of the outcast of the family), but she also possesses the intelligence to be deemed useful to her father. However, Marta has other plans--aspirations beyond being her father's lackey. She dreams of making a name for herself in the world of psychology.Enter Dr. Leopold Kaposi (a colleague of Dr. Rosenblit) and Elise Saloman, an aspiring pediatrician. Kaposi recognizes Marta's intelligence and entices her to work with him, unbeknownst to her father. This is where the story takes a suspenseful turn. Does Kaposi have Marta's best interests in mind? Or does he have ulterior motives? With the help of Elise, whose interest in befriending Marta is unknown until near the end of the story, Marta is faced with several tragic and life-changing realizations.I thoroughly enjoyed The Doctor's Daughter and look forward to reading more from Matthews.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A dark tale of a singular time and an empowering friendship By OlgaNM I am a psychiatrist, and when I read the plot of this book I could not resist. A book set in Vienna about the early times of psychiatry, and a woman, the daughter of a psychiatrist, trying to develop her own ideas and become independent from her father’s overbearing influence. I had to read it.The book is fascinating and very well-written. I suspect that somebody without my background might enjoy the story more for what it is, and not try and overanalyse it or overdiagnose it. Arnold Rosenblit’s theories are suspiciously reminiscent of Sigmund Freud’s. And of course, he also had a daughter, Anna, who dedicated her life to study and develop child-psychology. I’ve read some of Freud’s works, but I haven’t read that much about his life, although from what I’ve seen, his relationship with his daughter was much more congenial than the one Arnold (a man difficult to like, although the description of his relationship with his wife is quite touching) had with Marta, the daughter of the title.The book is written in the third person and mostly narrated through Marta’s point of view, although there are chapters from her friend Elise’s perspective, her father, and Leopold, a physician and long-time friend of the family.Marta is a very complex character, and one I found difficult to simply empathise with and not to try and diagnose. Her mother was locked up in a psychiatric asylum when she was very young and she became the subject of her father’s observation. The father tried to keep her as isolated as possible from his other daughters, but the oldest daughter looked after her, even if minimally, and they were all in the same house. (It made me think of the scenario of the film Peeping Tom, although Arnold does not seem to have been openly and intentionally cruel.) She appears naïve and inexperienced, at least in how to behave socially and in her role and feelings as a woman, but she is a doctor, a psychiatrist, attends and organises her father’s talks and lectures, and teaches outside, therefore she’s exposed to society and has always been. This is not somebody who has truly grown up in isolation, although she has missed a guiding female figure in her life and the close emotional attachment.She has her own psychological theories and ideas, but finds it difficult to make her father listen to her. She has very low self-esteem, self-harms and has been doing so for a long time, and when she enters a relationship with a man, she’s completely clueless as to standards of behaviour or how to interpret this man’s attentions (a much older man than her, but somebody with influence and who promises to help her). Although she was not brought up by her mother, I wondered how realistic some of her behaviours would be for a woman of her social class at that period. However, the novel does paint the fine society of the time as a close set-up with a very dark undercurrent, with drugs and alcohol being consumed abundantly, and adventurous sexual behaviours being fairly common, and perhaps Marta is reflexion of such contradictions. On the surface, very controlled (the ego), but with strong and dark passions underneath (the unconscious).Eloise, the friend she casually meets (or so it seems at the time), is a formidable character, determined, strong-willed, and resourceful, prepared to fight the good fight for women in a society of men. It’s very easy to root for her.There is a classical villain, that you might suspect or not from early on, but who eventually is exposed as being a psychopathic criminal. The difficulty I had with this character was that I never found him attractive enough or clever enough to justify the amount of power he had over everybody. He is narcissistic and manipulative but even he at some point acknowledges that he uses people but has no great contributions or ideas of his own. It is perhaps because we’re privy to Marta’s thoughts and we see behaviours most people wouldn’t see that we don’t fall for him, but later on he’s revealed to have behaved similarly with quite a few people, especially women, and for me, it was difficult to understand why they would all fall for him. Marta is a damaged individual and he takes advantage of it, but what about the other women? And the rest of society? Leaving that aside (it might be a personal thing with me), he’s definitely somebody you’ll love to hate. (I’m trying not to spoil the plot for readers, although the description of the books gives quite a few clues).The ending, despite terrible things happening and much heartache, is a joy. Considering what has gone on before, everything turns very quickly, and it’s difficult to imagine that in real life psychological healing would be quite so complete and perhaps so smooth. But it is a fairy tale ending, and although a dark tale, one of sisterhood triumphant.A word of warning, the book can prove a tough read, as some pretty dark things take place, and there are some cringe-inducing moments. It is not an easy read, but it will challenge you and make you think. And that’s not a bad thing.I was offered a copy by the author in exchange for an honest review.
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