A New York Times best historical novel of the year, Victoria Masâs The Mad Womenâs Ball is a feminist literary thriller, adapted as a major film for Amazon Prime.
âIn this darkly delightful Gothic treasure, Mas explores grief, trauma, and sisterhood behind the walls of Parisâs infamous SalpÊtriÃĻre hospital.â âPaula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
The SalpÊtriÃĻre Asylum: Paris, 1885. Dr. Charcot holds all of Paris in thrall with his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad and cast out from society. But the truth is much more complicatedâthese women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives, those who have lost something precious, wayward daughters, or girls born from adulterous relationships. For Parisian society, the highlight of the year is the Lenten ballâthe Mad Womenâs Ballâwhen the great and good come to gawk at the patients of the SalpÊtriÃĻre dressed up in their finery for one night only. For the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope.
Genevieve is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister Blandine, she shunned religion and placed her faith in both the celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Charcot and science. But everything begins to change when she meets Eugenie, the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family that has locked her away in the asylum. Because Eugenie has a secret: she sees spirits. Inspired by the scandalous, banned work that all of Paris is talking about, The Book of Spirits, Eugenie is determined to escape from the asylumâand the bonds of her genderâand seek out those who will believe in her. And for that she will need Genevieveâ help . . .
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