Life in the Victorian Asylum: The World of Nineteenth Century Mental Health Care

4 "elegant, accessible, smooth" stars !!<br><br>Thank you to Netgalley, Pen and Sword History and the author for an e-book copy in exchange for my honest review. This book was first published in 2014 and re-released July 2020.<br><br>Mr. Stevens is an archivist by profession and has written an excellent social history of a Victorian asylum in England. The name was Moulsford Asylum with some secondary information from nearby Broadmoor Asylum. Many people have a skewed understanding of the history of the care of the severely mentally ill and think of Bedlam in London with crowded, cruel and archaic treatments. This book lays some of these myths to rest and takes us through how the poor mentally ill could receive very good care in comfortable surrounding with compassionate staff through the moral treatment or the use of work and leisure to help those afflicted with severe conditions.<br><br>Mr. Stevens acknowledges that the care was paternalistic but in many ways it seems superior to the release of many severely ill into homeless shelters and prison that often happen today.<br><br>Mr. Stevens writes elegantly, accessibly and imparts a great deal of information about political history, social history, architecture, early psychiatry and interpersonal relations. Initially he writes as if it were a patient handbook although the depth of information make it more akin to an employee's handbook. He then goes on to describe larger social forces and gives a few brief case histories.<br><br>All in all, I found this to be a most informative and measured read. Thank you Mr. Stevens !<br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1598754849i/30034160.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">

I have to admit, I've always had a kind of morbid fascination with mental asylums. I find the subject of mental health riveting, so this book suited my tastes rather adequately. The first half of this book was laid out in the form of a patient manual, as if you, yourself, were being admitted to a victorian asylum. This part, although it took a chapter or so to get into, was really very informative. <br /><br />In the second half of the book we find out about some of the staff that actually worked at these asylums, some of which, were actually admitted later on in life. Nearing the end of the book are some case studies of actual patients. These were so interesting, and to be honest, I really wanted to read more of these!

This is a fascinating look into how mental health care was in the Victorian era. The first half is laid out as a manual as if you were the incoming patient. I enjoyed reading the information but didn't like the format. The manual personal style of writing didn't work for me. The second half is about staffing of the time and some case studies and that I enjoyed much more. <br /><br />It challenged a few of my perceptions. I've read a lot of negative stories and some of them I think were more historical accounts of any period rather than Victorian. If you have an interest in mental health or history this is a good book to pick up

What a fascinating quick read! It was written like a manual for new patients into the insane asylum in the first half and then gave facts about victorian insane asylums in the 2nd half. Very well researched and the writing drew you in and kept you enthralled. Nice little historical book.

Thank you to the author, Pen &amp; Sword Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!<br /><br />I love all things history. I also have this weird obsession with the dark corners of history. Life in the Victorian Asylum: The World of Nineteenth-Century Mental Health Care by Mark Stevens is definitely piqued my interest. This nonfiction book is broken up into two parts: The Victorian Asylum Patient’s Handbook and the History of Victorian Asylums. The author goes into great detail about the layout of these asylums and even some misconceptions about mental health in this time period. Most would assume that mental health patients were tortured, as they were throughout most of history, but the Victorian Age did see some progress when it came to treating mental illness. The book then concludes with maps, diagrams, and photos from the time period.<br /><br />I love historical nonfiction but this book missed the target. Maybe it is because I had assumed there would be more discussion about mental health. The first 70-75% of the book reads like an information leaflet. It is in the second person, addressing the reader as if they are the ones looking at the mental institution. The concept is unique but did not nail the execution. There is more information describing the look of the mental institution and servants than it did about mental illness. I was hoping for more stories about the patients and what exactly their treatment plan was at that time.<br /><br />Even the second half didn’t quite hit the target for me. The author touches on different laws and acts that were made during the Victorian Era. Don’t get me wrong, there is quite a bit of research that went into this book, but just not the type of research I was expecting. Anyway, this book gets 2 out of 5 stars from me.

A very useful book about one asylum in Victorian England. Engagingly-written.

Thank you to the author, Pen &amp; Sword Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!<br /><br />I love all things history. I also have this weird obsession with the dark corners of history. Life in the Victorian Asylum: The World of Nineteenth-Century Mental Health Care by Mark Stevens is definitely piqued my interest. This nonfiction book is broken up into two parts: The Victorian Asylum Patient’s Handbook and the History of Victorian Asylums. The author goes into great detail about the layout of these asylums and even some misconceptions about mental health in this time period. Most would assume that mental health patients were tortured, as they were throughout most of history, but the Victorian Age did see some progress when it came to treating mental illness. The book then concludes with maps, diagrams, and photos from the time period.<br /><br />I love historical nonfiction but this book missed the target. Maybe it is because I had assumed there would be more discussion about mental health. The first 70-75% of the book reads like an information leaflet. It is in the second person, addressing the reader as if they are the ones looking at the mental institution. The concept is unique but did not nail the execution. There is more information describing the look of the mental institution and servants than it did about mental illness. I was hoping for more stories about the patients and what exactly their treatment plan was at that time.<br /><br />Even the second half didn’t quite hit the target for me. The author touches on different laws and acts that were made during the Victorian Era. Don’t get me wrong, there is quite a bit of research that went into this book, but just not the type of research I was expecting. Anyway, this book gets 2 out of 5 stars from me.

This book is a nice introduction to the organisation of, and day-to-day life in, a late Victorian lunatic asylum. The first part of the book (which is most of the book) is written as if it’s a guide to asylum life for the new patient - it makes it a little easier to read, but does mean that this book isn’t suitable if you already have a working knowledge of how the asylums were run.<br /><br />The authors clearly loves his subject - he has also written a book on Broadmoor - and his enthusiasm for it comes across on every page. Recommended as an easy-reading introduction to the subject.

This is a sobering look at Victorian Asylums. I liked the style of the beginning, where it is written as though you are an incoming patient and the book is your manual. It's a stark reminder that mental illness has always been handled in the wrong ways, and while we have come a long way, we still have a long way to go.<br /><br />This unbiased review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

...<br /><br />This was a very interesting read that shows we have a wrong image of the Victorian asylums. Especially in the second half of the 19th century they were actually great institutions, and in some ways provided better care than the current system does. Although backwards in some of their ideas (especially regarding sexism), they were surprisingly modern and humane, and accomplished a lot with the few means they had (both financial and in ways of medical knowledge/treatments).<br /><br />The book is written in two parts, the first and largest written as if the reader is about to enter the asylum and contains all you might want to know regarding the building, illnesses, staff, acceptance and discharge, treatment, daily routine, etc etc etc. Sometimes this went into a bit too much detail for my personal interest (I don't really need to know the particular flushing systems used in the toilets for example), but overall it is very interesting. The second part contains everything else, such as more history on the specific asylum where information was gathered by the author, what happened to the asylums up till now, and a few specific patients were discussed. I really wish this last bit had been longer, because to me this was the most interesting part that really pulled everything together and brought it all to live. I do understand though that it didn't quite fit in with the topic aimed for in the book. <br /><br />Overall I thought this was a very accessible and interesting read, which served as quite an eyeopener and a great base to reflect the various portrayals of asylums in fiction against. <br />3.5*