David Whittet is a family doctor, an independent filmmaker and author.
Medicine is a constant source of inspiration for David’s writing. Like writing, general practice is about being interested in people’s stories. The Road to Madhapur draws on David’s personal experience of family medicine in both New Zealand and India. While the novel is a work of fiction, his first-hand knowledge of medicine in the raw, together with many real-life events, helped shape the story.
Storytelling has been in David’s DNA since childhood. A dramatisation of Oliver Twist on television profoundly affected him as a child. In its day, Dickens’ novel brought reform to the poor law, which convinced David of the written word’s potential to change the world. He decided then that he wanted to be a writer. Subsequently, A J Cronin’s novels inspired David to become a doctor, especially The Citadel, which pre-empted the National Health Service’s foundation in the UK and beyond.