Bedlam: London and Its Mad
Oct 2008 · Simon and Schuster
4.6star
10 reviews
Ebook
320
Pages
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Eligible
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About this ebook
A “finely written, thoroughly researched” history of Bethlehem Hospital, London’s notorious insane asylum, “packed with moving stories” (The Independent).
Bedlam—the very name conjures up graphic images of naked patients chained amid 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’s roots go back nearly eight hundred years—it was referred to in Shakespeare’s King Lear—and it became notorious by the dawn of the Victorian era for its brutal atmosphere and crumbling conditions. This absorbing book tells the story of this institution in thought-provoking detail, dealing with a subject still relevant in a society struggling with how to best care for the mentally ill.
“Elegantly written and richly anecdotal.” —Daily Mail
“The author indulges all that is quirky and macabre in the fascinating story of madness in England.” —The Guardian
Includes photographs and illustrations
Bedlam—the very name conjures up graphic images of naked patients chained amid 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’s roots go back nearly eight hundred years—it was referred to in Shakespeare’s King Lear—and it became notorious by the dawn of the Victorian era for its brutal atmosphere and crumbling conditions. This absorbing book tells the story of this institution in thought-provoking detail, dealing with a subject still relevant in a society struggling with how to best care for the mentally ill.
“Elegantly written and richly anecdotal.” —Daily Mail
“The author indulges all that is quirky and macabre in the fascinating story of madness in England.” —The Guardian
Includes photographs and illustrations
Ratings and reviews
4.6
10 reviews
Potato
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February 24, 2023
Very informative. Quite a dark subject but handled well by the author.
About the author
Catharine Arnold read English at Cambridge and holds a further degree in psychology. A journalist, academic and popular historian, Catharine's previous books include the novel "Lost Time," winner of a Betty Trask award. Her London quartet for Simon & Schuster comprises of "Necropolis: London and Its Dead," "Bedlam, London and Its Mad," "City of Sin, London and Its Vices" and "Underworld London, Crime and Punishment in the Capital City."
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