Surgical Call

By Margaret E. Sangster

“You ought to have seen her the day she did away with Milly’s tonsils. She might have been on her way to a costume party. She wore the cutest little cap.”

Charity Standish is a doctor—and also a woman, a very attractive one. She plays a winning hand at bridge, wears silver gowns with flair, enjoys dancing in nightclubs, and icy cocktails—but these are minor accomplishments. In the operating room, with a deftness equaling her skill at spearing an hors d’oeuvre, she snips out an appendix, saves an injured leg and delivers a baby, winning appreciation for her compassion as well as her knowledge and talent as a surgeon. Then one evening Charity meets stockbroker Gregory Wheelock and Dr. Hugh Evans, her chief of staff at the hospital, and both men fall hard for her. Soon Charity finds something to appreciate in each of the men she is dating—but in searching her own heart, she loses her sure touch. Gregory is always good for a gourmet dinner, a glamourous night out dancing, a bouquet of white violets. Hugh is serious and intense, maybe a little too much so, but his awkward yet sincere attempts at love stir her deeply. Moreover, he understands her ambitions and is proud of her skill, while Gregory can’t believe she’s a surgeon. “Why should a girl choose such disagreeable work?” he says. “Women oughtn’t to be doctors, it’s wrong.” Then, when events take an unexpected and dramatic turn, Charity must determine which man is willing to make difficult sacrifices to win her love …

“Dealing in fascinating style with the problems of a charming young woman divided between an exacting profession and the love of two men.” Sun-Journal, January 1938