PublishedPen And Sword, September 2020 |
ISBN9781526782090 |
FormatSoftcover, 192 pages |
Dimensions23.4cm × 15.6cm |
Have you ever wondered what life was like for the thousands of ordinary people who experienced Victorian mental health care? Life in the Victorian Asylum is the story of those ordinary people. It details their daily routine, the treatments they were offered and the rules to which they had to conform.
Immerse yourself in the period detail of ward life. Meet the staff and other patients. Seek a diagnosis for your illness. Tour the hospital and take part in the activities on offer. In Life in the Victorian Asylum, Mark Stevens reconstructs the lost world of the nineteenth century public asylums. Why were they built? Who were they for? And what is the legacy of these remarkable institutions? You may be surprised at what you discover. Mark Stevens, the best-selling author of Broadmoor Revealed, is a professional archivist and expert on asylum records. In this book, he delves into Victorian mental health archives to recreate the experience of entering an asylum and being treated there, perhaps for a lifetime. Praise for Broadmoor Revealed Superb, Family Tree magazine Detailed and thoughtful, Times Literary Supplement Paints a fascinating picture, Who Do You Think You Are? magazine. AUTHOR: Mark Stevens is a professional archivist who works at the Berkshire Record Office. He looks after the Broadmoor and Fair Mile Hospital archives and writes and talks extensively about Victorian mental health. Life in the Victorian Asylum is his second book, and acts as a companion to Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum (Pen & Sword, 2013). 25 b/w illustrations
