Preparing for book group

It is my choice of book for tonight's book group. I have to start the discussion with a quick summary of the author's life and the book. There's quite a bit about AJ Cronin on the web and a couple of academic papers on his work and whether it helped change public attitudes to health care and the establishment of the NHS. All fascinating stuff.

I'll be interested to hear what the others thought of the book. There will be wine.