**Hatter's castle**: His first book, Hatter's Castle was written in 1931 and was an immediate success. Since then, Cronin has written several more successful books, the most famous being The Stars Look Down (1935) and The Citadel (1937). Recently many of his stories have appeared on television.
Hatter's Castle describes a man who thinks only of himself, and through his cruelty causes great misery to his family. Many of Dr Cronin's other stories also deal with the misery caused by selfish people who lack sympathy for others. This concern is perhaps the fruit of his experience as a doctor.
