Doctor Syn Returns

Doctor Syn #3

by Russell Thorndike

"You, too, are an honest man, Captain Faunce," replied Syn. "You show your sympathy and your sentiment without shame, and I think you. Therefore, on the strength of your generosity, if I pledge you my word that this shall never happen again, will you free these unfortunate fellows?" The Dragoon shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, sir. It is too late. I have sent half my men for the Sandgate cutter to arrest them. But if you are, as I understand, sir, visiting a sick woman upon the Marsh, let me not be further blamed for having detained you." Dr. Syn looked at the prisoners. Needless to say, he recognized them all and was astonished to find so many respectable parishioners amongst them.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Fiction, Classics, Thriller

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Arthur Russell Thorndike was a British actor and novelist, best known for the Doctor Syn of Romney Marsh novels. Lesser known than his sister Dame Sybil Thorndike but just as versatile, Russell Thorndike's first love was for the pen and, following service in World War I, he devoted himself to writing.

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Another installment of the antihero Doctor Syn. Pirate, priest, smuggler, raging psychotic. The fascinating thing about this is how the author utterly fails to tread the line of antihero, instead reeling from side to side between noble superman and sadistic maniac. I'm just going to note here that a) Dr Syn *twice* falling in love with his own teenage goddaughters who immediately die for him is never not gross, and b) this book contains one of the most disgusting protracted revenge killings I have ever read in a misspent reading career, and we're then supposed to see Syn as noble because he...stops doing it? Right.

Terrible. Obviously I'm going to read another one now.

[Michael Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poldark meets Batman in Russell Thorndike's adventures of Dr Syn. Published between 1915 and 1944, the novels tell the tales of Dr Christopher Syn, village parson driven to a life of piracy by a terrible lust for revenge. In this the third book (but second chronologically), Dr Syn adopts a third guise, that of the terrifying Scarecrow, to protect the smugglers of Kent from the forces of His Majesty's Customs and Excise.

These books are terrific fun. Dr Syn is one of those protean caped crusaders who appeared in the first few decades of the 20th century – alongside Zorro, John Carter and Hugo Danner – and serve as a connecting thread between the heroes of the 19th century and the superheroes we still know today.



Doctor Syn Returns was published in 1935, just four years before Bruce Wayne made his first appearance in Detective Comics, and like the Dark Knight he is an intriguingly antiheroic figure. Syn is part Robin Hood, part Blackbeard; champion of the oppressed and terror of the high seas; simple honest parson and criminal mastermind. No wonder he needs three personas to contain all those contradictions.

"If a parson cannot override the devil, he's no use at his job."

In one of the book's best scenes, our hero literally bids farewell to Captain Clegg and introduces him to his successor: Dr Syn, country vicar.



Towards the end of the book, the barriers begin to break down between Syn's three lives, as the enemies of Clegg and the Scarecrow begin to surmise they might be one and the same – as might mild-mannered Dr Syn. It would perhaps have been more interesting if that last part had remained a threat rather than an actual realisation – with Syn apparently leading the charge against his other selves – but you can't have everything.

And as it is the book ends on a deliciously evil note, with Syn's nemesis Black Nick going to the gallows as Captain Clegg in return for the vicar taking in his daughter. It's an impressively selfish act of manipulation on the part of our protagonist – a dark inversion of A Tale of Two Cities – and one that reminds us he is not a good man.

With the current popularity of masked avengers, windswept heroes and historical violence, Syn and Thorndike are long overdue rediscovery and probably a BBC adaptation too. Sadly, all the books bar the first seem to be out of print, but if you spot a dogeared copy in a second-hand bookshop or online, snap it up. You'll have one hell of a ride.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spurned lover, turned pirate decides to retire back to his old home town on the coast of England.
His plan for a quiet life as the local vicar is disrupted by the local smuggling ring, a highwayman, the crush of the squires' daughter and a secret from his past.

Rollicking adventure full of atmosphere and melodrama.
Predictable in spots, but not entirely in a bad way, but done with a sly sense of humor and just a fun read.

Not thrilled with them bringing back some threads from the first book. That was a bit annoying, but I can see why he did it.

[Igenlode Wordsmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this at the start, but less towards the end; it's fun to see how Dr Syn ended up as the Scarecrow, but the romance seemed too obviously ill-suited, and the two villains rather caricatured. It's a fresh touch that Nick is devoted to his new baby, but we don't actually see a lot of that beyond the introduction of the idea. And the whole smuggling thing doesn't really grip me as I think it's supposed to do.
I enjoyed the introduction of the fresh characters, Meg Clouder and Jimmy Bone, but Meg becomes little more than a plot device after the opening chapter, and I didn't find myself engaged enough with Charlotte to find her actions tragic. Captain Vic's demise is very effectively nasty, though.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Dr. Syn book that created the scarecrow character that I loved from my childhood when Disney made a movie from it. I have read two others in the series and the scarecrow that is Dr. Syn's Robin Hood character was really not in them. The stories so far actually give a much different perspective of Syn than the Disney movie did but it is interesting and far different than I would have believed from just the movie. Parts of this one definitely were used for the movie character but the more realistic and gritty parts of Syn were left out of the movie but are in the book. It was a good story and gave depth to the character while somewhat tragic as well. I will read the rest of the books in the series in the near future as I have enjoyed the three so far.

[Jim Dooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely packed with melodrama, adventure and romance, this is the thriller that most fully captured my youthful enthusiasm for Disney's television mini-series, THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH. Yes, here the origin of The Scarecrow is introduced, although with much rougher edges than the sanitized television version.

There are moments that strain credibility, as there would be in almost any swashbuckling tale, yet that only heightens the fun and excitement. I would have to think that any modern fan of Indiana Jones would easily take to this series, and this entry in particular.

When we last left the infamous Captain Clegg (soon to be the parson, Dr. Christopher Syn and The Scarecrow), he had made a hasty escape from sure destruction. In this book, the tale continues, along with a heartfelt romance, the exciting emergence of the anti-hero of the Marshes, and an opportunity to complete a revenge that had been interrupted in the previous story. The result is a brisk page-turner that kept bringing me back for more.

I highly recommend this one for anyone who still has an adventure-seeking child residing inside.

[Tweedledum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Syn returns to Dymchurch after many years on the high seas as his ship is wrecked . An opportunity to return to his old calling and to give up the life of adventure. But when Syn discovers that his parishioners are in danger of being hanged for petty smuggling he feels compelled to take action. So begins his double life as Scarecrow and Rector.

[Laura Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars Enjoyable reading by Rufus Sewell for BBC radio of books 2 and 3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00d8yxp. These are the best two in the series, after that I loose interest in Doctor Syn's exploits.

[Freder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the basis for the Disney series THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH, starring the late Patrick McGoohan. The book is considerably darker and more turgid than the series.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

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