Insanity and the Lunatic Asylum in the Nineteenth Century

Insanity and the Lunatic Asylum in the Nineteenth Century was inspired by the success of a one day conference held at the site of the former Birmingham Lunatic Asylum in May 2011; this was an international interdisciplinary event which featured speakers from academic backgrounds including history, psychology, sociology and literature, as well as mental health professionals. Th e chapters presented in this collection aim to replicate the breadth and depth of the papers delivered at the conference, bringing together fresh research and new ideas in the field. Th e themes which the chapters explore continue to open up new ground in the light of the critical interventions which have, over the last forty years, made the medicalization of insanity in the nineteenth century such a fertile field for critical endeavour. Insanity and the Lunatic Asylumclaims distinction for its juxtaposition of disciplines and sources, as well as for the disparate backgrounds of its authors. To have access to literary, medical, social historical and cultural essays on asylums of the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and the United States in the same volume remains (to our knowledge) unique in the extant literature.