Shadows in Wonderland A Hospital Odyssey Colin Ludlow

When television producer Colin Ludlow was admitted to hospital for an operation, he expected to be home in ten days. In the event, he ended up staying for five months, and contracted MRSA. Here, he tells his story, and takes a philosophical journey through chronic illness as he explores its wider significance.

"The combination of one man's personal experience of the NHS, together with a brilliant analysis of what is wrong with the system and how it goes wrong, makes for a compelling and illuminating read for everyone. It should be required reading, a daily catechism, for all officials from the health secretary down who are responsible for our national health." Nina Bawden, novelist "... a frontier story of our times." Antony Gormley, sculptor "Wonderful: honest, interesting, compassionate, well-written....it makes you understand how it feels to become a long-term patient." Sophie Balhetchet, producer and Chair of Women in Film &TV "Colin Ludlow masterfully combines a blistering personal account of his adventures in a London mega-hospital with a series of witty, perceptive and illuminating essays on the place of those institutions in Western culture" Howard Schuman, broadcaster and dramatist"

Colin Ludlow wrote articles and reviews for New Society, the TLS, Alan Ross's London Magazine and Plays & Players before embarking on a career in television drama. He worked for the BBC and in the independent sector, firstly as a script editor, and subsequently as a producer. His credits include The Scarlet Pimpernel, a highly-praised adaptation of PD James' An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, and a number of award-winning TV films.