This Way Madness Lies by Mike Jay

This Way Madness Lies by Mike Jay

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 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

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.

SKU	CIN0500518971VG
ISBN 13	9780500518977
ISBN 10	0500518971
Title	This Way Madness Lies
Author	Mike Jay
Condition	Very Good
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Thames & Hudson Ltd
Year published	2016-09-15
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us