The surgeon of Crowthorne was indeed a surgeon, graduating from Yale and serving as a doctor in the US army of the civil war. Overview. Mel Gibson bought the rights to the Simon Winchester book "The Surgeon of Crowthorne" in 1999, and it took 17 years for him to get it to the screen. At the professor's first meeting with the 'Madman' he is shown to have thought he was the superintendent of the facility rather than a patient. Edit. It's a memorable book and on my list to re-read. The surgeon of Crowthorne was indeed a surgeon, graduating from Yale and serving as a doctor in the US army of the civil war. The surgeon of Crowthorne : a tale of murder, madness and the Oxford English dictionary by Winchester, Simon. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary is a 1998 work of nonfiction by British-American journalist Simon Winchester. 'The Surgeon of Crowthorne'. Yes, the movie The Professor and the Madman is based on a 1998 book by Simon Winchester. The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words is a non-fiction history book by British writer Simon Winchester, first published in England in 1998.It was retitled The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary in the United States and Canada. And he was a resident of the Berkshire village of Crowthorne. The surgeon of Crowthorne was indeed a surgeon, graduating from Yale and serving as a doctor in the US army of the civil war. And he was a resident of the Berkshire village of Crowthorne. Booktopia has The Surgeon of Crowthorne, A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words by Simon Winchester. 4.0 out of 5 stars The Surgeon of Crowthorne Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2009 An incredibly serendipitous account of how the Oxford English Dictionary came to fruition after years of dedicated hard work by an army of voracious readers and word lovers. And he was a resident of the Berkshire village of Crowthorne. Buy a discounted Paperback of The Surgeon of Crowthorne online from Australia's leading online bookstore. The first edition was called The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness, and the Love of Words . Mel Gibson has lost a key round in his battle for control of “The Professor and the Madman,” potentially clearing the way for the release of the star-crossed film about the origins of a… Report This. Publication date 1999 Topics