This Way Madness Lies

Product 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. Review 'Immaculately researched … essential reading' -- The PsychologistThis Way Madness Lies tells a colorful history, one rich in incident The book's wealth of artwork has been sumptuously reproduced. 'Fascinating and lavishly illustrated.' --Wall Street Journal'A fascinating tour d'horizon' --The Guardian'Superb…the text exhibits all the lucidity you could wish for when struggling to apprehend this most disturbing and problematic of subjects.' --Will Self, London Review of Books From the Back Cover ?This Way Madness Lies is a thought-provoking exploration of the history of madness and its treatment as seen through the lens of its proverbial home: the Royal Bethlem Hospital, London, popularly known as Bedlam. Organized chronologically, the book charts the evolution of the asylum through four distinct incarnations: the 18th-century madhouse, the 19th-century asylum, the 20th-century mental hospital and the wider community. It reveals the role that the history of madness and its treatment has played in creating the landscape they all inhabit. Moving and sometimes provocative illustrations sourced from the Wellcome Trust’s exceptional collection and the Royal Bethlem Hospital’s archive highlight the trajectory of each successive era of institution: founded in the optimistic spirit of humanitarian reform but eventually dismantled amid accusations of cruelty and neglect. Each chapter concludes with a selection of revealing and captivating artwork created by some of the inmates of the institutions of that era. Compelling and intriguing, these artworks express the personalities and feelings of the originators far more powerfully than descriptions of their conditions. 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 London Review of Books and Wall Street Journal. This Way Madness Lies was written to complement the exhibition ‘Bedlam: the asylum and beyond’, which he co-curated for 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. His website is mikejay.net.