A Fortunate Woman

A Country Doctor's Story

By: Polly Morland, Richard Baker (Illustrator)

Write A Review

Paperback | 25 July 2023

At a Glance

Paperback
256 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20 x 13.5 x 2

Paperback

$26.99

or 4 interest-free payments of $6.75 with

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

'If you want to read a book that moves you both at the level of sentence and the quality of language and with the emotional depth of its subject matter, then A Fortunate Woman is definitely the book you should be reading' - Samanth Subramanian, Baillie Gifford judge

When Polly Morland is clearing out her mother's house she finds a book that will lead her to a remarkable figure living on her own doorstep: the country doctor who works in the same remote, wooded valley she has lived in for many years. This doctor is a rarity in contemporary medicine - she knows her patients inside out, and their stories are deeply entwined with her own.

In A Fortunate Woman, with its beautiful photographs by Richard Baker, Polly Morland has written a profoundly moving love letter to a landscape, a community and, above all, to what it means to be a good doctor.

About the Author

Polly Morland is a writer and documentary maker. She worked for fifteen years in television, producing and directing documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4 and Discovery. She is a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines and is the Royal Literary Fund Fellow in the School of Journalism, Media & Culture at Cardiff University. She is the author of several books, including The Society of Timid Souls: Or, How to Be Brave, which was longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and was a Sunday Times Book of the Year, and A Fortunate Woman.

Industry Reviews

'Morland writes about nature and the changing landscape with such lyrical precision that her prose sometimes seems close to poetry' - Christina Patterson, The Sunday Times

'Timely . . . compelling . . . a delicately drawn miniature' - Financial Times

'This book deepens our understanding of the life and thoughts of a modern doctor, and the modern NHS, and it expands movingly to chronicle a community and a landscape' - Kathleen Jamie, New Statesman

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Biographies & True Stories Biographies Science, Technology & Medicine Biographies Medicine Medicine in General Medical Profession Doctor Patient Relationship Literary Biographies Society & Culture Social Groups Rural Communities

More in Science, Technology & Medicine Biographies

Sunstruck
An inspiring memoir of survival, resilience and one man's fight to save lives
Paperback
RRP $34.99
$26.99
23%
OFF

Mindhunter
Inside the FBI Elite Serial Crime Unit (Now A Netflix Series)
Paperback
RRP $26.99
$22.99
15%
OFF

Everything to Live For
The Inspirational Story of Turia Pitt
Paperback
RRP $24.99
$21.75
13%
OFF

When Breath Becomes Air
What makes life worth living in the face of death
Paperback
RRP $26.99
$22.99
15%
OFF

Annette Kellerman, Australian Mermaid
The inspiring true story of the swimming champion and Hollywood star, from the bestselling author of SISTER VIV and THE REMARKABLE MRS REIBY
Paperback
RRP $35.99
$26.75
26%
OFF

Brainstorm
2025 ABIA Social Impact Book of the Year
Paperback
RRP $34.99
$28.75
18%
OFF

A Periodic Tale: the bestselling life-long story of Australia's favourite science champion Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, shortlisted for the ABIA Biography of the Year 2025
My Sciencey Memoir
Paperback
RRP $36.99
$29.75
20%
OFF

Mary Penfold
The true story of the great Australian winemaker, from the bestselling award-winning author of SISTER VIV and MR AND MRS GOULD
Hardcover
RRP $49.99
$38.75
22%
OFF

Elon Musk
Paperback
RRP $29.99
$24.99
17%
OFF

How To Change Your Mind
New Science of Psychedelics
Paperback
RRP $26.99
$22.99
15%
OFF

How to Starve Cancer
...and Then Kill It With Ferroptosis
Paperback
$48.75

Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories
Paperback
RRP $24.99
$21.75
13%
OFF

The Year I Met My Brain
A travel companion for adults who have just found out they have ADHD
Paperback
RRP $35.00
$24.50
30%
OFF

The Elements of Marie Curie
How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science
Paperback
RRP $34.99
$28.75
18%
OFF

Brief Answers to the Big Questions
Final book from Stephen Hawking
Paperback
RRP $24.99
$21.75
13%
OFF

Nature's Last Dance
Tales of wonder in an age of extinction
Paperback
RRP $36.99
$29.75
20%
OFF

Being Mortal
Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End
Paperback
RRP $26.99
$18.75
31%
OFF

This is Going to Hurt
Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor
Paperback
RRP $24.99
$21.75
13%
OFF

Frog
The secret diary of a paramedic
Paperback
RRP $36.99
$29.75
20%
OFF

Longitude
Paperback
RRP $22.99
$20.75
10%
OFF

Great Australian Outback Nurses Stories
Paperback
RRP $34.99
$28.75
18%
OFF

Leonardo da Vinci
Paperback
RRP $35.00
$28.75
18%
OFF

Exactly
How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World
Paperback
RRP $26.99
$21.75
19%
OFF

Field Notes from Death's Door
A journey of horror, hope and healing, a memoir from a young doctor's experience in the Central African Republic, for readers of This Is Going To Hurt and Do No Harm
Paperback
RRP $35.99
$29.75
17%
OFF

A Fortunate Woman

A Country Doctor's Story

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Science, Technology & Medicine Biographies

Sunstruck

An inspiring memoir of survival, resilience and one man's fight to save lives

Mindhunter

Inside the FBI Elite Serial Crime Unit (Now A Netflix Series)

Everything to Live For

The Inspirational Story of Turia Pitt

When Breath Becomes Air

What makes life worth living in the face of death

Annette Kellerman, Australian Mermaid

The inspiring true story of the swimming champion and Hollywood star, from the bestselling author of SISTER VIV and THE REMARKABLE MRS REIBY

Brainstorm

2025 ABIA Social Impact Book of the Year

A Periodic Tale: the bestselling life-long story of Australia's favourite science champion Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, shortlisted for the ABIA Biography of the Year 2025

My Sciencey Memoir

Mary Penfold

The true story of the great Australian winemaker, from the bestselling award-winning author of SISTER VIV and MR AND MRS GOULD

Elon Musk

How To Change Your Mind

New Science of Psychedelics

How to Starve Cancer

...and Then Kill It With Ferroptosis

Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories

The Year I Met My Brain

A travel companion for adults who have just found out they have ADHD

The Elements of Marie Curie

How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science

Brief Answers to the Big Questions

Final book from Stephen Hawking

Nature's Last Dance

Tales of wonder in an age of extinction

Being Mortal

Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End

This is Going to Hurt

Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor

Frog

The secret diary of a paramedic

Longitude

Great Australian Outback Nurses Stories

Leonardo da Vinci

Exactly

How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World

Field Notes from Death's Door

A journey of horror, hope and healing, a memoir from a young doctor's experience in the Central African Republic, for readers of This Is Going To Hurt and Do No Harm

This product is categorised by