Sketches in Bedlam; or Characteristic Traits of Insanity, as Displayed in the Cases of One Hundred and Forty Patients of Both Sexes, now, or Recently Confined in New Bethlem, Including Margaret Nicholson, James Hatfield, Patrick Walsh, Bannister Truelock, and Many Other Extraordinary Maniacs, who have been Transferred from Old Bethlem. To the Above are Added a Succinct History of the Establishment, Its Rules, Regulations, Forms of Admission, Treatment of Patients, &c. &c. By a Constant Observer

[WRIGHT, Edward]

Verlag: London: Sherwood, Jones & Co., 1823

Beschreibung

[Psychiatry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.xl; 312. Attractively bound in period-style half speckled calf with twin red and green morocco labels lettered in gilt, raised bands, marbled covered sides, deckled edges uncut. Contents with a few minor marks, half title repaired and re-margined, binding as new. A very good, tall copy in an attractive recent leather binding. Attributed to Edward Wright, apothecary to Bedlam hospital from 1819 to 1830, when he was dismissed for drunkenness. An account of notable cases and patients at the psychiatric facility, including Margaret Nicholson & James Hadfield, the would-be assassins of King George III, both incarcerated as 'criminal lunatics'. Bethlem Royal Hospital, South London, whose nickname is synonymous with confusion, uproar and hysteria, has inspired many horror books, films, and TV series, most notably 'Bedlam', a 1946 film starring Boris Karloff. Initially "Bedlam" was an informal name but from approximately the Jacobean era the word entered everyday speech to signify a state of madness, chaos, and the irrational nature of the world. Although the hospital became a modern psychiatric facility, historically it was representative of the worst excesses of asylums in the era of lunacy reform. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 66000

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Sketches in Bedlam; or Characteristic Traits...

Verlag: London: Sherwood, Jones & Co., 1823

Einband: Hardcover

Auflage: 1. Auflage