Mark Stevens (3)

historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, nonfiction*****

My only exposure to British lunatic asylums has been through historical novels written by both good researchers and lax ones. Of course, I have also read Nellie Bly's account "10 Days in a Madhouse" regarding similar issues in America. It appears as a pamphlet written in the style of a Madison Avenue promotional promising a positive experience and accommodations for those whose families can pay as well as those from the poor house or the work house. As one who graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1968, I have had cause to observe abandoned places of that era, worked through the development of medicinal treatments, and can attest to the current placement of too many mentally ill in jails. I thought that this was an excellent read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Pen & Sword/Pen & Sword History via NetGalley. Thank you! I plan to purchase a copy for my shelves.… (meer)

My first ever Kindle read – and what a cracking one! I love books that deal with social history and I love the Victorian period so what’s not to love! Stevens writes about cases using Broadmoor’s archive. Cases include those of Victorian artist Richard Dabb and ‘the chocolate poisoner’, Christiana Edmunds.

Dabb was featured on a programme Jeremy Paxman did on BBC1 a few years ago called 'The Victorians' about artists and art of that period, which was an excellent series, so it was nice to read a bit more about him. Dadd, thought now to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, murdered his father and fled to France, where he was quickly captured. He remained institutionalised for the remainder of his life.

Christiana Edmunds turned poisoner after the married doctor she was having a relationship with broke off that relationship – first she tried poisoning the doctor’s wife and then began buying chocolates from a shop in Brighton where she lived, lacing them with poison and then returning them as ‘unwanted’. They were then bought by unsuspecting members of the public. She was eventually discovered and she, like Dadd, spent the rest of her life locked up.

The book also explores other lesser-known, but equally interesting cases, and also examines women in the asylum and various escape bids. Thoroughly interesting and really recommended. It is currently only available for download – over Christmas it was one of the most downloaded titles from Amazon, which might mean Stevens gets a paper deal – he certainly deserves one!
… (meer)

Stevens is an archivist, and this very competent 'brief history' of Broadmoor is really an archivist's book. He has trawled out some genuinely interesting stories, and given them context in a very concise narrative history of the UK's premier institute for the criminally insane. It's the sort of book you'd select if you were going to go on a tour there, except there are no tours because it still operates as a high security 'hospital'. If you knew nothing about it you'd know more about it after reading this book, but you wouldn't really know much about the debate between disease and criminality that has been going on since Broadmoor was established in 1863. You'd also miss out on a potentially interesting discussions about how this category of patient has been dealt with in other countries, and about the problems of managing and staffing such institutions. For that sort of information you have to go to the texts referred to in Stevens excellent bibliography, and it's a measure of the success of his book that I am actually inspired to do so. Short(ish) and sweetly done, with some fine photographs, I'd recommend this as an introduction to the subject, and an attractive addition to any collection of books on penology and/or mental health institutions.… (meer)