The Cape Doctor

By: E. J. Levy

Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells

A "gorgeous, thoughtful, heartbreaking" historical novel, The Cape Doctor is the story of one man’s journey from penniless Irish girl to one of most celebrated and accomplished figures of his time (Lauren Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Send for Me).

Beginning in Cork, Ireland, the novel recounts Perry’s journey from daughter to son in order to enter medical school and provide for family, but Perry soon embraced the new-found freedom of living life as a man. From brilliant medical student in Edinburgh and London to eligible bachelor and quick-tempered physician in Cape Town, Dr. Perry thrived. When he befriended the aristocratic Cape Governor, the doctor rose to the pinnacle of society, before the two were publicly accused of a homosexual affair that scandalized the colonies and nearly cost them their lives.

E. J. Levy’s enthralling novel, inspired by the life of Dr. James Miranda Barry, brings this captivating character vividly alive.

Critic reviews

"Levy has done an absolutely superb job of novelizing Barry’s life while her realization of him as a character is flawless. He is brilliant, impetuous, unafraid (perhaps foolishly) of making enemies in a good cause, an ardent supporter of women’s rights and an equally ardent enemy of slavery. . . . And the book is beautifully written."—Booklist (starred review)

"An elegant and provocative spin on the life of trans icon James Miranda Barry. . . . Perry’s narration brims with fascinating details about medicine and social mores of the time. This beautifully written work will spark much debate."—Publishers Weekly

“The Cape Doctor is a rare achievement: equal parts brains and heart, a page-turner and a deeply moving exploration of precisely what it means to be human. E. J. Levy breaks open what we think we know about gender, identity, and love and shines a light on the devastating limits of each. I can’t stop thinking about this gorgeous, thoughtful, heartbreaking book.”—Lauren Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Send for Me

“The Cape Doctor does what the best novels do. It invites us to put aside our own lives for a time in order to live someone else’s. And it repays the moral imagination that requires with something like wisdom.”—Richard Russo, author of Chances Are...

"The Cape Doctor is one of those rare wonders of historical fiction: a novel that is so utterly transporting, so fully steeped in its time and place I kept looking up from the page and wondering where I was. And how did E.J. Levy do it? Was she there? The story of its hero Dr. Perry, an Irish woman practicing medicine under cover as a man in nineteenth-century South Africa raises powerful contemporary questions about the nature of border crossings – of gender, of class, and ultimately of love."

—Sarah Blake, bestselling author of The Postmistress

“E.J. Levy’s compelling novel The Cape Doctor, born at the intersection of history and imagination, powerfully examines the fluidity and complexity of gender. Levy offers a profound meditation on identity, loneliness, and love. The Cape Doctor provides everything I come to a novel hoping for—graceful prose, first-rate storytelling, and an irresistible protagonist observed with deep compassion. I admired and adored this book.”—Lori Ostlund, author of After the Parade

"A remarkable reimagining of a remarkable life. The narrator of The Cape Doctor – courageous, lonely, vivid – lingers in the mind like a departed friend." —Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian

Beautifully Wrought

The premise of the novel - loosely based on the life and trials of Dr. Barry - is interesting to begin with, but it is the voice that truly brings this novel alive. The narrator is superb, the relationships nuanced, and the questions the novel presents continue to be thought-provoking. Wonderful novel, will listen to it again.

Incredible story

Loosely based on the life of Dr. James Barry. An incredible story with heart and intrigue. I highly recommend.

Wonderful story

This story is a fictionalized version of the life of Dr James Barry. Though several biographies have been written about Dr Barry, many details are left uncertain or simply unknown, allowing the author to take much liberty in her speculation. This is perfectly fine - the result is wonderful - but just keep in mind that this is not a biography, or, since it is narrated by Dr Barry, an autobiography. It is a fleshed out rendition of the sacrifices made by a girl (she was a girl when she began her studies), and then a woman, to pursue a profession that would have been closed to her. The writing is excellent, the characters well-developed. The narration was superb (except there were more than a few words that I thought she pronounced neither according to British or American pronunciation, but perhaps I’m mistaken). I highly recommend this book and look forward to more books by Levy.

Absolutely brilliant…..

Seldom has a book brought me to tears in so many places. Beautifully written and beautifully narrated. Extraordinary story.

Excellent

What gives us identity? An interesting life, well written and well read. A moving and thoughtful story.