Magnificent Obsession is a 1929 novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 by Lloyd C. Douglas

Lloyd C. Douglas

Lloyd Cassel Douglas born Doya C. Douglas, was an American minister and author.He was born in Columbia City, Indiana, spent part of his boyhood in Monroeville, Indiana, Wilmot, Indiana and Florence, Kentucky, where his father, Alexander Jackson Douglas, was pastor of the Hopeful Lutheran Church...

. It was one of four of his books that were eventually made into blockbuster motion pictures, the other three being The Robe

The Robe

The Robe is a 1942 historical novel about the Crucifixion written by Lloyd C. Douglas. The book was one of the best-selling titles of the 1940s. It entered the New York Times Best Seller list in October 1942, and four weeks later rose to No. 1. It held the position for nearly a year...

, White Banners

White Banners

White Banners is a 1938 Warner Brothers drama film starring Claude Rains, Fay Bainter, Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, Henry O'Neill, and Kay Johnson....

 and The Big Fisherman

The Big Fisherman

The Big Fisherman is a 1959 American film directed by Frank Borzage about the later life of Peter, one of the closest disciples of Jesus.The film is adapted from a novel written by Lloyd C. Douglas...

.

Plot summary

Robert Merrick is resuscitated by a rescue crew after a boating accident. The crew is unable to save the life of Dr. Hudson, a doctor renowned for his ability to help people, on the other side of the lake who was having a heart attack at the same time. Merrick then decides to devote his life to making up for the doctor's, and so he decides to become a physician (specifically a brain surgeon).

In the book

The book's plot portrays Mrs. Hudson, the widow, moving to Europe after Joyce, the doctor's daughter, gets married. Merrick progresses in his career, and in the story's climax, gets involved in a railway accident in which Mrs. Hudson suffers a brain injury. Merrick is instrumental in her recovery.

In the movie

The movie differs from the book in that before deciding to become a surgeon, Merrick not only alienates the doctor's widow, with whom he has fallen in love, but also causes another tragedy. This makes him totally re-evaluate his life, and at that point, he decides to become a doctor.

Inspiration

The story behind the novel, and the identity of the surgeon on whose life it is based, is mentioned in a 2007 article in the American Association of Neurosurgeons' journal AANS Neurosurgeon, "Inspirations and Epiphanies"

The theme of the book is based on a passage from the Gospel of Matthew

Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...

 (chapter 6:1-4):

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.....That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly."

The philosophy behind the book is also partly that of "pay it forward

Pay it forward

The expression "pay it forward" is used to describe the concept of asking that a good turn be repaid by having it done to others instead. In contract law, typically there are two parties but there is the concept of third party beneficiaries. Pay it forward merely applies this contract law concept...

", the idea that good deeds received are not to be paid back to the doer of the deed, but to a needing person in the future.

Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal

Douglas later wrote a book in response to the flood of letters he received from readers who wanted to know where they could find the book to which he referred in the novel, Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal. The Robert Merrick character decoded the journal, from which he learned the secret of his extraordinary success as a doctor. (According to the book, the secret was the literal practice of doing good deeds secretly, and thereby reaping spiritual power to use in becoming an excellent doctor.)

Film, television or theatrical adaptations

• Magnificent Obsession
  Magnificent Obsession (1935 film)
  Magnificent Obsession is a 1935 drama film based on a book of the same name by Lloyd C. Douglas. It was adapted by Sarah Y. Mason, Victor Heerman, and George O'Neil, and directed by John M. Stahl...
  
   a 1935 film.
• Magnificent Obsession
  Magnificent Obsession (1954 film)
  Magnificent Obsession is a Universal International Pictures romantic feature film directed by Douglas Sirk; starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson. The screenplay was written by Robert Blees and Wells Root, after the book Magnificent Obsession by Lloyd C. Douglas. The film was produced by Ross Hunter...
  
   a 1954 film directed by Douglas Sirk
  Douglas Sirk
  Douglas Sirk was a Danish-German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas in the 1950s.-Life and work:...
  
  .
• Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal
  Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal
  Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal is an American medical drama which aired in syndication from 1955 to 1957. Based on the book of the same name by Lloyd C. Douglas, a total of 78 episodes were produced....
  
  a television drama which aired in syndication from 1955 to 1957 (78 episodes).

Other "Magnificent Obsession" uses

• James M.G. Luther Pendragon's progressive-Metal band, James is the guitarist on the project.
• Steven Curtis Chapman has a song called "Magnificent Obsession." It appears in the 2003 WOW Christian Hits album.
• Magnificent Obsession: Frank Lloyd Wright's Buildings in Japan
• Z Channel: Magnificent Obsession