Doc Audiobook By Mary Doria Russell cover art

Doc

A Novel

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Doc

By: Mary Doria Russell
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
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The year is 1878, peak of the Texas cattle trade. The place is Dodge City, Kansas, a saloon-filled cow town jammed with liquored-up adolescent cowboys and young Irish hookers. Violence is random and routine, but when the burned body of a mixed-blood boy named Johnnie Sanders is discovered, his death shocks a part-time policeman named Wyatt Earp. And it is a matter of strangely personal importance to Doc Holliday, the frail 26-year-old dentist who has just opened an office at No. 24, Dodge House.

Beautifully educated, born to the life of a Southern gentleman, Dr. John Henry Holliday is given an awful choice at the age of 22: die within months in Atlanta or leave everyone and everything he loves in the hope that the dry air and sunshine of the West will restore him to health. Young, scared, lonely, and sick, he arrives on the rawest edge of the Texas frontier just as an economic crash wrecks the dreams of a nation. Soon, with few alternatives open to him, Doc Holliday is gambling professionally; he is also living with Mária Katarina Harony, a high-strung Hungarian whore with dazzling turquoise eyes, who can quote Latin classics right back at him. Kate makes it her business to find Doc the high-stakes poker games that will support them both in high style. It is Kate who insists that the couple travel to Dodge City, because “That’s where the money is.”

And that is where the unlikely friendship of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp really begins - before Wyatt Earp is the prototype of the square-jawed, fearless lawman; before Doc Holliday is the quintessential frontier gambler; before the gunfight at the O.K. Corral links their names forever in American frontier mythology - when neither man wanted fame or deserved notoriety.

Authentic, moving, and witty, Mary Doria Russell’s fifth novel redefines these two towering figures of the American West and brings to life an extraordinary cast of historical characters, including Holliday’s unforgettable companion, Kate. First and last, however, Doc is John Henry Holliday’s story, written with compassion, humor, and respect by one of our greatest contemporary storytellers.

©2011 Mary Doria Russell (P)2011 Random House Audio Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Mystery Westerns Feel-Good Witty Western Fiction

Editorial reviews

Mary Doria Russell's last two novels have been works of historical fiction, and Doc demonstrates that she's clearly found her groove in the genre. The premise of the book is at once both iconic and imaginative, treating the beginnings of friendship between Doc Holliday and the Earp clan several years before all the fuss at the O.K. Corral. These are not hardened lawmen, but struggling young men with simple dreams of financial stability and good health. Mark Bramhall does an impeccable job with the voice work, taking on these enormously well known characters and adding a sensitive depth of uncertainty. After all, at this moment in history, John Henry Holliday is just a dentist who plays a bit of poker, and Wyatt Earp is merely a part-time officer of the peace who is hoping to breed racehorses. They are thrown together out of concern for a mutual acquaintance, John Horse Sanders, a mixed-race man who died in a fire but who may have been murdered before the fire got started.

It's a straightforward Western mystery with a surprising amount of intricate narration. Mark Bramhall is a prize when it comes to character acting, so he handles the various Southern accents, from Georgia to Texas to Kansas, without even breaking a sweat. But everyone knows Doc Holliday died of consumption at a young age. Doc's dialogue is riddled with hacking, coughing, spluttering and spitting. Bramhall manages to insert all of these credibly, yet without disrupting the flow of the story or ruining Doc's many profound punch lines. It's particularly a treat to hear him voicing Doc's fiery gypsy whore, Kate. Switching between Western and Hungarian accents seems difficult enough, but Kate is also fluent in a number of other languages, and Bramhall delivers the French and Latin with an easy grace. Russell's slow and steady narrative is bound to delight, but as with all good Westerns, it's the drawling sound of the place that will make it truly enchanting. Megan Volpert

Critic reviews

"Fact and mythmaking converge as Russell creates a Dodge City filled with nuggets of surprising history, a city so alive readers can smell the sawdust and hear the tinkling of saloon pianos....Filled with action and humor yet philosophically rich and deeply moving - a magnificent read." ( Kirkus)
Historical Accuracy • Rich Character Development • Exceptional Voice Acting • Eloquent Prose • Engaging Storytelling
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I was very impressed with the story and the narration. Something for almost anyone in this book, western history, American history, romance, philosophy and a lot of truth. I was particularly taken by the writers knowledge on the truth about the civil war (although the book only just touches on the civil war) - she has obviously not fallen for the politically correct data on the subject.

Doc

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What did you love best about Doc?

This excellently written book portrays the early lives of John Holliday, the Earp brothers, and other western legendary figures in Dodge City in the 1870's. Mary D. Russell weaves the strands of their lives into a vivid tapestry. You come to know them so well, their plans, hopes, weaknesses, their hard past experiences, the early friendships and falling out. Dorris has accomplished wonderful character portrayal and plot based on solid research.
However, the narrator carries the reader's experience to a new level.
It's hard to believe that only one narrator tells this multi-character story. He turns this excellent book into compelling theater. Every character has a distinctive voice, speech pattern, pronunciation, even Polish Kate.
I was riveted during all the hours of the book. If only it could have lasted longer.
It is one I will definitely listen to again!

Engrossing Theater

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Any additional comments?

This book presents a well known character of the American west. Each scene involves either shoot-out or a brothol, but this truly was the way life was. There are interesting characters and some moments of humor. The reader was excellent.

engaging

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What did you love best about Doc?

Really a wonderful narrator who rendered this story with tremendous energy. With his voice he expanded the characters emotional reach .. these characters came alive . I hope his tubercular cough is improving as he moves to another project. I will look for other books by both author and narrator.

Absolutely superb !

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The blending of real history with imagined color and personality made for the best book I’ve listened to this year! I knew some of Doc Holliday’s story;that he was a dentist, a pro gambler and that he died from TB, but I did not know about his background and how long he suffered. If you like an old west story with a lot of fact, this is for you. The narrator did a great job...loved his Southern/Western accent

Best Book This Year!!!

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This is a must if you are even slightly interested in Doc Holliday and you will not be disappointed. The author in this and epitaph the following up on tombstone and all that went on there did an amazing job

Amazing profound and professional

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i LOVED this book! The narrator was thr best I've heard so far, and the story was deeply engrossing, very entertaining, charming, abd humorous. The novel well written with beautifully descriptive prose you get lost in but not overwhelmed by; in short, a must read!

Wild West at it's best!

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Wonderful writing and great performer. I am looking forward to another Md Russell book with a Bramhall naration.

So entertaining!

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I highly recommend this book it is a great way to get insight into Doc Holiday and his life. We'll written and the narrator did a fanometable job with the reading. I believe that this book should be offered in schools it is so well executed.
Thank you for writing this book!

Excellent story, Not what I expected

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“Doc”, by Mary Doria Russell. is a novel based on Western legends living in Dodge City, Kansas during the late 1870’s. The novel primarily centers on James Henry (Doc) Holliday, but includes Wyatt and Morgan Earp and Kate Harony (Doc’s girlfriend, who was also a successful prostitute).

I enjoyed the book. In part, because I appreciate witty dialogue and in part, because this is a story of a person’s struggle to enjoy life despite having a terminal illness. Sometimes I need a reminder that my fears might rob me of my quality of life.

Don’t Be Afraid To Live

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