Gilbert Farie, (pronounced fairy) you will not have heard of, for he is a forgotten village Pharmacist who practiced back in Victorian days. Gilbert Farie was the dwarf pharmacist, hunched, red cheeked and monocular in vision, who each day dispensed from his pharmacy the cough medication for the boy who was Robert Louis Stevenson. Gilbert Farie could sell anything, and literally did. He was widely unpopular as his only pursuit was of self advancement. I correspond with a friend who is a philosopher and poet. In our correspondence I take on the persona of Gilbert Farie (as my posture has a tendency to hunch) and my friend is the doctor. We both share concerns about harms that may arise from over-medicalisation. What follows are some quotes from books that I have read:
From ‘All the light we cannot see’ by Anthony Doeer:
From ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ by George Saunders:
From ‘Speak, Memory’ by Vladimir Nakokov:
Robert Crawford on the young T. S Eliot:
From ‘The Muse’ by Jessie Burton:
In relation to ‘Effi Briest’ by Theodor Fontane:
From ‘Short Stories’ by Thomas Mann:
