Testimony of Two Men: A Novel (Rediscovered Classics) Paperback – April 1, 2010

Great tale with good variety of characters, all imperfect as they must be. Lots of pessimism about nature of man, a ray of hopefulness.

Testimony of Two Men is another remarkable novel by Taylor Caldwell. Her protagonist, a relatively young physician, is filled with rage that he was accused of the murder of his wife, even though he was officially found not guilty in court. How much can he take, or should a man be able to take? Due to his unresolved rage at having been betrayed and confused about his feelings toward his elusive beloved, he tends to treat almost everyone badly. He doesn't develop a sense of the tolerance (rather than disdain) for his fellow humans until the end, and that somewhat rapidly. Fearing his reputation has been destroyed, he ambivalently decides to move from the city he loves to begin some kind of new life. Because he is a truth-teller, which people generally do not like but distantly admire, he instills resentment in the powerful who know him. They intend to expel him. The primary antagonist, a man of political power and fiscal means, leads the passive others in the pursuit of the protagonist's downfall. Some would consider the protagonist valorous, but I am not so sure he is valorous as opposed to recalcitrant. He has flaws, some of which he sees in others. This is a morality tale detailing truth v. dissimulation. It is very true to life. Recommended

I read this as a young adult, as my parents had many TC books in our family library. I remember really liking this story, the setting, the historical framework, the writing and especially admired the protagonist, Jon Ferrier. As a re-read more than 30 years later -- this book does NOT hit the same.Loooong-winded is the least of my complaints. NONE of the men in the story understand or even (I suspect) like women. The women are paragons, bitches or sluts -- that's it. No nuanced characters at all. The protagonist is intolerable... pushy, opinionated, uncompromising, cynical, proud, inconsiderate...and then suuuper generous, kind, devoted, and clearly a gifted doctor. But his characteristics are so immoderate he is completely unlikeable. Not even remotely relatable.None of the men lusting over the main young woman character (Jenny) knows ANYthing about women and two of them yearn for her out of some pretty icky, dicey motivation. And it needs to be said: The attempted rape in this book is just bad bad bad, especially in how it is framed as a positive (by Marjorie in particular...just egregious). I know this is "of it's time," but it is hard to read this now.Skip it.

I like historical fiction. The author has researched well political and social customs and how they impacted medical practices. The author honored medical doctors that introduced and fought for asepsis and hygiene in the operating rooms. We owe our lives to them and many are forgotten. This book is a tribute to them. The story of a doctor named Jonathan Ferrier is very inspiring. His passion and integrity and persistence in the face of oppositions and persecution are the qualities that made him a héroe . I like Taylor Caldwell's books because she makes a profund moral análisis of the characters. They have flaws and weaknesses coexisting with valor, integrity and honesty. This leads to movement and character development that added to the richness of the story. I have to admit that inspires me to self reflect and spiritual growth . She was a superb writer and I have read several of her books. This is one of my favorites I recommend it if you are interested in a historical fiction deeply framed in social and cultural values . I have a new appreciation for modern medical practices and immunology. They fought for the lives of all of us. I am grateful to the author for giving the readers an awareness of their battles and victories.

I gave it 4 stars because of Kindle's (Amazon) editing. The spelling errors ("he" for "lie"; "many" for "marry"; "hps" (not even a word!) for "lips) and the punctuation errors ("hell" for "he'll"; "well" for "we'll" etc.). Taylor Caldwell was an excellent writer and I think it was rather insulting for Kindle not to proofread and correct before loading her book onto kindle. It was kind of distracting to have to translate several sentences because kindle did not put a period where it belong.Now that my rant is over about the errors made by kindle, I will review the book. I had read this book many years ago (not going to say how long ago) and remember I loved the book. It was the first book I read by Taylor Caldwell and has made me a lifelong fan of hers. It was still excellent the second time around. Has made me want to dig out my Taylor Caldwell's books and read them again. Get this book - it is worth it even though you will have to figure out some of the words that kindle did not fix.

I was born in 1961 and read it as a teen in 1974. I remember thinking how "mature" I was to be reading Taylor Caldwell, and yet there was something quite innocent about her world view, a belief in the intrinsic goodness and dignity of people. Caldwell is one of my favorite writers, and inspired me to become a writer as well. For me, it is not the best book I ever read. That would probably be Captains and the Kings (by, um, Caldwell.) Then Pillar of Iron (ditto.) But very near the top. The treatment of medical ethics, and particularly abortion, at a time when it was still illegal in many areas, was fascinating. Caldwell was very nuanced in her treatment of a topic that polarizes and is a black and white issue today, in these supposedly "evolved" times. I have become increasingly pro life as I age, and so the perspective that I have re-reading this book is not the perspective of a 13 year old girl, but the book has even more resonance and richness now. I truly love it.

I really didn’t enjoy this book, it was a long slog. I don’t feel it really gave us an insight into life at that time, no mention of racism although given the misogyny that’s probably just as well, and the characters were mostly implausible - quoting poems at each other in the middle of an argument?? Maybe that’s what they did back then.It was often repetitive, saying the same thing in different ways, and we could have cut to the chase much more quickly. It’s got an exceptionally gloomy view of human nature and the hero is a very unattractive man despite his morals. No surprises in the ending, I was just glad to get there.

I enjoyed this book tremendously...I have read other books she has written and I was not disappointed with Testimony... Her research is impeccable and you easily become involved with the characters she brings to life. I am now eager to read yet another of her books.

I am reading the book now I loved the tv series years ago ,its a fantastic read

A good story but quite hard work to read although worth the effort. On the whole very enjoyable if dated.

Superb story line. It has the lot and is in line with books like Kingd Row.