This Way Madness Lies

The Asylum and Beyond

Mike Jay

$60

Hardback

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English

Thames & Hudson
01 September 2016

History; Social & cultural history; Mental health services

Is mental illness - or madness - at root an illness of the body, a disease of the mind or a sickness of the soul? This Way Madness Lies is a thought-provoking exploration of the history of madness and its treatment as seen through the lens of its proverbial home: the Royal Bethlem Hospital, London, popularly known as Bedlam. Organized chronologically, the book explores the meaning of mental illness through the successive incarnations of the institution that defined it: the 18th-century madhouse, the 19th-century asylum and the 20th-century mental hospital.

Moving and sometimes provocative illustrations sourced from the Wellcome Trust's exceptional collection and the Royal Bethlem Hospital's archive highlight the trajectory of each era of institution: founded in the optimistic spirit of humanitarian reform but eventually dismantled amid accusations of cruelty and neglect. Each chapter concludes with a selection of revealing and captivating artwork created by asylum patients and other artists from each era of the institution and beyond. Compelling and intriguing, these artworks express the personalities and attitudes of the originators far more powerfully than descriptions of their conditions.

By: Mike Jay
Imprint: Thames & Hudson
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 279mm, Width: 179mm, Spine: 29mm
Weight: 1.200kg
ISBN: 9780500518977
ISBN 10: 0500518971
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 September 2016
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction • 1. The Madhouse 1676–1815 • 2. The Lunatic Asylum 1815–1930 3. The Mental Hospital 1930 and beyond • Epilogue

Reviews for This Way Madness Lies: The Asylum and Beyond

'A fascinating tour d'horizon' - Guardian 'Fascinating and lavishly illustrated' - Wall Street Journal 'Superb...the text exhibits all the lucidity you could wish for when struggling to apprehend this most disturbing and problematic of subjects' - Will Self, The London Review of Books 'Immaculately researched ... essential reading' - The Psychologist