Frank Gill Slaughter, also known by his pen names Frank G. Slaughter and C.V. Terry, was a highly successful novelist and physician. Born in Washington, D.C., Slaughter grew up on a farm in Berea, North Carolina, near Oxford. He excelled academically from a young age and went on to attend Duke University at the age of 17, where he became a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After graduating, he attended medical school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Slaughter's career as a physician and his interest in history and the Bible provided the foundation for his successful career as a novelist. He began writing fiction in 1935 while working as a physician at Riverside Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. His novels, which often featured medical research and technology, drew on his own experiences as a doctor and his wide-ranging interests. Some of his most popular works include "The Purple Quest," "Surgeon, U.S.A.," "Epidemic!", "Tomorrow's Miracle," and "The Scarlet Cord."
In addition to his successful career as a novelist, Slaughter also served as a physician in the United States Medical Corps during World War II. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served aboard the Emily HM Weder hospital ship. His experiences during the war provided the inspiration for his novel "Dark Garden," which is set during the Civil War. Slaughter earned the American College of Surgeons Fellowship in 1938 and was certified as a Surgery Specialist by the American Board of Surgery in 1940. He passed away in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2001.