What do George Orwell, Anton Chekhov and Emily Bronte have in common, apart from being great writers? Yes, you got it, they all died of TB. There are much longer lists of famous writers who died of tuberculosis. In fact there are so many that one might almost wonder whether there’s a creativity gene that also makes someone more susceptible to the disease.

I should declare an interest: – I caught TB from the NHS in 1981. Fortunately I wasn’t infectious to others and our departure for three years in Kenya wasn’t delayed by treatment. Ever since then, I’ve been fascinated by TB, particularly in children, and have published a few papers about it. When we visited the Isle of Jura I could imagine George Orwell hammering away at his typewriter while coping with the fevers, night sweats and crippling cough. He must have been desperate to finish 1984 before TB finished him. These days there is effective treatment, although drug-resistance threatens recent progress in fighting this ancient and insidious disease. About 1.4m people in the world died of TB in 2014.

In my second novel Green Goddess Josie’s father Ken has experienced the traumas of separation as a young child when he was placed in a TB ‘preventorium’ at The Hollies, a grand house on the edge of Meanwood valley in Leeds. You are most welcome to read some of the informal research for this in Dr Tattersalls’ Dilemma.

This blog is supposed to be about my writing life so I had better bring you up to date. Walls of Fire was sent to one publisher and three agents in January. The Leeds Writers Circle novelists’ group keeps me on my toes but I’ve fallen behind my New Year resolutions already (perhaps because I was on my toes and didn’t have my feet planted firmly enough on the ground?). One resolve was to enter one writing competition per month, so I’ve entered for the Remember Oluwale prize. It doesn’t close until March 6th so you still have time to enter. David Oluwale’s story has cast a long shadow over Leeds but good things are happening in his memory. Leeds Writers Circle have a speculative fiction writing competition coming up. Perhaps I should write about that gene for writing genius that makes people susceptible to TB. Now that would be fantasy…

Here’s a sleepy-looking pangolin, contemplating whether to curl up completely and call it a day or to trundle off in search of sustenance. Pangolins are endangered species and need all the help they can get. See the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group for all the information you might want.

My next Pangolin is due out with the new moon on 9th March 2016.

© David Cundall