Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Simon & Schuster Ltd (2008), Hardcover
Description
'Bedlam!' The very name conjures up graphic images of naked patients chained among filthy straw, or parading untended wards deluded that they are Napoleon or Jesus Christ. We owe this image of madness to William Hogarth, who, in plate eight of his 1735 Rake's Progress series, depicts the anti-hero in Bedlam, the latest addition to a freak show providing entertainment for Londoners between trips to the Tower Zoo, puppet shows and public executions. That this is still the most powerful image of Bedlam, over two centuries later, says much about our attitude to mental illness, although the Bedlam of the popular imagination is long gone. The hospital was relocated to the suburbs of Kent in 1930, and Sydney Smirke's impressive Victorian building in Southwark took on a new role as the Imperial War Museum. Following the historical narrative structure of her acclaimed Necropolis, BEDLAMwill examine the capital's treatment of the insane over the centuries, from the founding of Bethlehem Hospital in 1247 through the heyday of the great Victorian asylums to the more enlightened attitudes that prevail today.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member elliepotten
This has been hovering on my radar for a while and on my wishlist for months, so when I spotted it in the library I had to pick it up. It's a terrifying book but I am so glad to have read it. As the title suggests, it is predominantly a history of the Bethlehem asylum in London, soon contracted to
Bedlam's history is a horrifying tale swimming with chains and straitjackets, ice baths and purging, bleeding and starvation, mania and despair. Arnold draws the reader through the years from Bedlam's conception, into different locations and grand buildings, through the reigns of monarch after monarch. Doctors and superintendents come and go, treatments fluctuate and metamorphose, knowledge grows and changes for the better... eventually. Through the sweep of Bedlam's history, Arnold has included the stories of some of the saddest, quirkiest and most notorious patients to haunt its cells, as well as extending her research to offer the reader a wider historical context and a broader look at the treatment of madness across the country. There is also an interesting chapter on mad women as a cultural construct, including a look at Miss Havisham and Bertha Mason as literary representations of contemporary stereotypes.
As a manic depressive, all I can say is, thank heavens I'm not living my life any time but now. Right up the mid-20th century, people suffering from mental illness have been 'treated' with a host of remedies from the ridiculous to the barbaric to, just occasionally, the hopeful and enlightened. I found this book by turns sad, wry, mind-boggling, thoughtful and plain horrific. I feel like I've come away from it having been educated and enlightened, not to mention harbouring a profound feeling of gratefulness that today's medicine has, for the most part, finally rejected the attitudes and approaches to mental illness that made elements of this book so painful to read. Highly recommended!
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'Bedlam' in local slang and quickly fixing the term in our language as a byword for chaos.Bedlam's history is a horrifying tale swimming with chains and straitjackets, ice baths and purging, bleeding and starvation, mania and despair. Arnold draws the reader through the years from Bedlam's conception, into different locations and grand buildings, through the reigns of monarch after monarch. Doctors and superintendents come and go, treatments fluctuate and metamorphose, knowledge grows and changes for the better... eventually. Through the sweep of Bedlam's history, Arnold has included the stories of some of the saddest, quirkiest and most notorious patients to haunt its cells, as well as extending her research to offer the reader a wider historical context and a broader look at the treatment of madness across the country. There is also an interesting chapter on mad women as a cultural construct, including a look at Miss Havisham and Bertha Mason as literary representations of contemporary stereotypes.
As a manic depressive, all I can say is, thank heavens I'm not living my life any time but now. Right up the mid-20th century, people suffering from mental illness have been 'treated' with a host of remedies from the ridiculous to the barbaric to, just occasionally, the hopeful and enlightened. I found this book by turns sad, wry, mind-boggling, thoughtful and plain horrific. I feel like I've come away from it having been educated and enlightened, not to mention harbouring a profound feeling of gratefulness that today's medicine has, for the most part, finally rejected the attitudes and approaches to mental illness that made elements of this book so painful to read. Highly recommended!
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LibraryThing member London_StJ
Catharine Arnold's Bedlam traces the treatment of the unstable from medieval diagnosis to the current condition of local establishments in London. As the title promises, the book covers many institutions, and not just the notorious Bethlem which has gifted the English language with the term
I am rating the book as 4 out of 5 stars simply because I recently read Showalter's The Female Malady, and found it more engrossing. However, Bedlam is a highly enjoyable - and occasionally terrifying - history of London madness, and I would certainly recommend the book.
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"bedlam". Ever-conscious of her readers, Arnold presents the history of madness and treatment in an entertaining fashion, and skillfully supplies readers with all information they need to truly understand the institution and its history. Bedlam traces the evolving social stigmas attached to madness, the treatments used throughout the ages, and short biographies of the men who decided to make the mad their life's work. As promised, Arnold provides detailed descriptions of public hospitals such as Bethlem, and provides interesting anecdotes about the patients that once roamed (or sat manacled to) the halls. I am rating the book as 4 out of 5 stars simply because I recently read Showalter's The Female Malady, and found it more engrossing. However, Bedlam is a highly enjoyable - and occasionally terrifying - history of London madness, and I would certainly recommend the book.
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LibraryThing member mstrust
A history of the infamous lunatic asylum that operated in London for hundreds of years and became a byword for chaos. Arnold traces all aspects of the institution, from its founders, doctors, policies, patients and reputation. The author does take some asides, such as including King George III's
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history of insanity and treatments (he was not an inmate of Bedlam), but the added information creates a more complete picture of the place and time. A solid read for its subject and history of London in general. Show Less
LibraryThing member MiaCulpa
I read Arnold's "City of Sin", on the history of London's vice side, and found it to be one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read, with its many salacious details of London's history. So, I was sure to chase down "Bedlam", with its study of Bethlam Hospital for those with mental health issues,
"Bedlam" lacks the salaciousness of "City of Sin", and for some reason it is more enjoyable to read of a politician's sex romp than the details of how poorly people with mental health issues were treated over the years. Still certainly worth a read, if only to learn of a humane side to King George III.
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and through this, a view of madness through the ages."Bedlam" lacks the salaciousness of "City of Sin", and for some reason it is more enjoyable to read of a politician's sex romp than the details of how poorly people with mental health issues were treated over the years. Still certainly worth a read, if only to learn of a humane side to King George III.
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LibraryThing member aadyer
A very good and relatively concise history of Bedlam and some of its more famous inmates. Concentrating more on the 18th & 19th century this highly accessible popular history, reads easily and is never boring. Interesting in places but more often intriguing, this has a good overview feel to this. I
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doubt it's the most comprehensive study of the subject on the market but it must lay claim to being one of the most readable both to the professional reader and the lay reader. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member SarahEBear
An interesting and well-researched history of Bedlam and mental illness through the 18th and 19th centruries. Suitable for both mental health professions and the general public. Arnold has the right mix of history, technical information and appealing (if a little alarming) stories. Worth the read.
LibraryThing member asukamaxwell
Like Catharine Arnold's other works, "Bedlam" is chock full of intimate detail, anecdotes, and personal histories while still maintaining a clear timeline. Most of the book takes place during the 18th century, but that was Bedlam's notorious, infamous, horrifying heyday. Also, unlike the other
The famous and the forgotten, are covered here, along with Bedlam's doctors, porters, surgeons, apothecaries and keepers. The author also touches on what is happening around Bedlam, not just inside. The Great Fire of 1666, an earthquake, Gordon's Riot, etc all of which would've affected the patients. There's so much history in such a quick read! My only quibble is that the post-Victorian thru WWI era was condensed into the very least chapter. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
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books I've read so far, this one actually touched on physiognomy and its role in "identifying" the insane.The famous and the forgotten, are covered here, along with Bedlam's doctors, porters, surgeons, apothecaries and keepers. The author also touches on what is happening around Bedlam, not just inside. The Great Fire of 1666, an earthquake, Gordon's Riot, etc all of which would've affected the patients. There's so much history in such a quick read! My only quibble is that the post-Victorian thru WWI era was condensed into the very least chapter. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
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Original publication date
2008-08-04
Other editions
Bedlam: London and Its Mad by Catharine Arnold (Hardcover)