Cole Trilogy

4 primary works • 5 total works Complete

The Physician

by Noah Gordon

Published 7 August 1986

Set against the superstition and splendour of the eleventh century, the tantalising story of Rob J. Cole unfolds. A penniless orphan, Rob was blessed with a gift which, in the days of witchcraft, would send a man to the stake: he could sense the chill hand of death when it settled on the living. His skill quickened with the potency of knowledge and he knew he was born to heal and be a physician. His quest would take him from the rough roads and seething streets of Britain to the sumptuous and corrupt courts of Persia and the school of the greatest healer of his time. Disguised as a Jew, toiling as a war surgeon in the conflicts of dazzling Eastern empires, he would be helped by mighty patrons and threatened by plague and cruel prejudice of mullahs and clerics. And beside the pure flame of learning there burned as fierce a passion - for the fiery-eyed beauty of the woman he could never leave...

Shaman

by Noah Gordon

Published 24 September 1992

Robert Jeremy Cole, the legendary doctor and hero of THE PHYSICIAN, left an enduring legacy. From the eleventh century on, the eldest son in each generation of the Cole family has borne the same first name and middle initial and many of these men have followed the medical profession. A few have been blessed with their ancestor's diagnostic skill and the 'sixth sense' they call The Gift, the ability to know instinctively when death is impending.
The tragedy of Rob J.'s life is the deafness of his son, Robert Jefferson Cole, who is called Shaman by everyone who knows him. Shaman's life is difficult. First, he must learn to speak so that he can take his place in the hearing world, and then he must fight against the prejudices of a society where physical differences matter. As Shaman struggles to achieve his identity, the Coles, along with the rest of America, are drawn into the conflict between the North and the South.

Matters of Choice

by Noah Gordon

Published 1 April 1996

Choices

by Noah Gordon

Published 7 December 1995

The first time R.J. defies her beloved father is when she is born a female; the second, when she opts to study law rather than medicine. Yet destiny is to overtake her when, for the first time, R.J. Cole realises that she has inherited The Gift. Holding the hand of a sick man, R.J. feels a dreadful certainty that he is going to die; tragically, the patient is no stranger but her own lover. Struggling with her grief, R.J. knows she must bow to the inevitable, and become a doctor. At first she combines her new talent with her legal work on cases where medical advice is needed, and her diagnostic skill combined with The Gift make her an invaluable consultant.

But her life changes when she moves to a small town practice and is faced with a terrible dilemma - and an important choice to make...

The Cole Trilogy

by Noah Gordon

Published 11 September 2012