Description
Is mental illness - or madness - at root an illness of the body, a disease of the mind, or a sickness of the soul? Should those who suffer from it be secluded from society or integrated more fully into it? This Way Madness Lies explores the meaning of mental illness through the successive incarnations of the institution that defined it: the madhouse, designed to segregate its inmates from society; the lunatic asylum, which intended to restore the reason of sufferers by humane treatment; and the mental hospital, which reduced their conditions to diseases of the brain. Moving and sometimes provocative illustrations and photographs, sourced from the Wellcome Collection's extensive archives and the archives of mental institutions in Europe and the U.S., illuminate and reinforce the compelling narrative, while extensive 'gallery' sections present revealing and thought-provoking artworks by asylum patients and other artists from each era of the institution and beyond.
A compelling illustrated exploration of the evolution of the asylum and attitudes to the insane from the 17th century to the present day
About the Author
Mike Jay has written widely on the cultural history of science, medicine and the mind. His books include The Influencing Machine, The Story of James Tilly Matthews and his Confinement in Eighteenth-century Bedlam and High Society: Mind-altering Drugs in History and Culture. He reviews regularly for The London Review of Books and The Wall Street Journal. This Way Madness Lies was written in conjunction with the exhibition 'Bedlam: the asylum and beyond', which he co-curated for the Wellcome Collection in London. He is a research affiliate of the Health Humanities Centre at University College London and a trustee of the Bethlem Art and History Collection.
Reviews
'A fascinating tour d'horizon' - Guardian
'Fascinating and lavishly illustrated' - Wall Street Journal
'Superb...the text exhibits all the lucidity you could wish for when struggling to apprehend this most disturbing and problematic of subjects' - Will Self, The London Review of Books
'Immaculately researched ... essential reading' - The Psychologist
Book Information
ISBN 9780500518977
Author Mike Jay
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Thames & Hudson Ltd
Publisher Thames & Hudson Ltd
Weight(grams) 1200g
A compelling illustrated exploration of the evolution of the asylum and attitudes to the insane from the 17th century to the present day
About the Author
Mike Jay has written widely on the cultural history of science, medicine and the mind. His books include The Influencing Machine, The Story of James Tilly Matthews and his Confinement in Eighteenth-century Bedlam and High Society: Mind-altering Drugs in History and Culture. He reviews regularly for The London Review of Books and The Wall Street Journal. This Way Madness Lies was written in conjunction with the exhibition 'Bedlam: the asylum and beyond', which he co-curated for the Wellcome Collection in London. He is a research affiliate of the Health Humanities Centre at University College London and a trustee of the Bethlem Art and History Collection.
Reviews
'A fascinating tour d'horizon' - Guardian
'Fascinating and lavishly illustrated' - Wall Street Journal
'Superb...the text exhibits all the lucidity you could wish for when struggling to apprehend this most disturbing and problematic of subjects' - Will Self, The London Review of Books
'Immaculately researched ... essential reading' - The Psychologist
Book Information
ISBN 9780500518977
Author Mike Jay
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Thames & Hudson Ltd
Publisher Thames & Hudson Ltd
Weight(grams) 1200g
