$25.51 with 41 percent savings
List Price: $42.95

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
$3.99 delivery May 16 - 22. Details
In stock
Usually ships within 2 to 3 days.
$$25.51 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$25.51
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
SuperBookDeals-
Ships from
SuperBookDeals-
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

A History of Insanity and the Asylum: Not of Sound Mind Hardcover – January 19, 2023

by Juliana Cummings (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 5 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$25.51","priceAmount":25.51,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"25","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"51","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"mapjbVu393xLxq4%2FWbRRPbLacOQ8SedWobh%2F4cnNrHdmnI8s8DpmMCin2FFNbxAPBPpd97nasL8WrKUQ6CCZPRaE%2FxtlDP%2B%2FAqq67b1IaZBSLEYOOkIx%2B%2FC8SFE9ykQ1zeARmpsIYET2UO82ZptN66ZQJtPVuoPXdQG2AY%2BcOZO2JfuttWOkFw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

An honest history of insane asylums, from the Middle Ages to the Victorian era and the twentieth century.

The iconic image of the lunatic asylum is one that often leaves us wondering what went on inside these imposing buildings.

In this new book, Juliana Cummings first questions what behaviors and characteristics define insanity and leads us through a comprehensive history of insanity and the asylum from the early treatment and care of mental illness in the Middle Ages and early modern period through to the closure of mental institutions in the twentieth century.

Throughout the years, we learn of how the treatments and institutional structures for caring for the mentally ill developed and changed. The Age of Enlightenment and the rise of humanitarian reform was followed by the emergence of the insane asylum in the 1800s, which saw the beginning of the widespread constructions of asylums.

We explore the different reasons for admittance, as well as the vast array of treatments. It shows that your treatment as an inmate of an asylum could vary depending on your gender and your social class.

Although once thought of as criminals, the mentally ill were gradually treated with care. Juliana discusses the different treatments used over time as attitudes towards the mentally ill changed, such as drug use, psychosurgery and insulin therapy. We learn of the regulations and reforms that led to the closure of asylums, how their closure affected society and consider how the mentally ill are treated today.

This insightful new history helps us to better understand the haunting past of the asylum and leads us down a fascinating road to where we come to an understanding of a time in history that is often mistaken.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    264 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pen and Sword History
  4. Publication date
    January 19, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1 x 9.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1399012142
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1399012140
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Juliana has been writing for close to thirty years. From her first publication in her junior high newspaper to her current writings on Tudor and Medieval history, writing has always been Juliana’s passion in life. While she has always been interested in history, she discovered that her family lineage led to Tudor Royalty, which pursued her to learn even more.

Through years of research, Juliana considers herself an expert on all things Tudor. Her interests also lie strongly with other aspects of medieval history, particularly the history of medicine and the macabre.

As well as actively writing her blog which focuses on the diary of a Lady in Waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon, she continues to write for various publications in both the UK and US. Her work has been published in History is Now magazine, Matt’s History Blog, A Tudor Writing Circle.com as well as Tudor Dynasty.com. Juliana has also self-published on Amazon.com. She currently runs her website and Facebook page, The Savage Revolt.

Juliana lives in central Massachusetts with her husband, children, and her mini dachshund, Pumpkin.

https://thesavagerevolt.com

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen and Sword History (January 19, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1399012142
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1399012140
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.27 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 5 ratings

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
5 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kristen Neal
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, intriguing and well written
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
Juliana has a deep and clear way of showing how mental illness and its treatments evolved over the centuries. She describes the core history of the beliefs and the beginnings of what these poor people who just needed helped were subjected to. I found the book, though sad because of the treatment of these people, extremely interesting and found myself wanting to learn more about the places mentioned and had a hard time putting it down. There is a lot of history to cover and I feel she describes it in a way that flows and is easy to understand since there is so much history regarding the subject.

If you are interested in history, the medical and mental health world, this book is definitely for you!
Helpful
 Report
Lizz A. Belle
4.0 out of 5 stars Good insight into history, still the stigma remains
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2023
This book gives a history of insanity and the variations of asylums from the ancient Greeks to present. Some of the content is disturbing, especially the second to last chapter about Nazi Germany. The history is fascinating, especially seeing the evolution of mental health treatment and the attempts to make it more humane and more gentle. There is emphasis on bright sunlight, gardens and making people feel like part of a community.

There are also the darker parts where people were chained, given lobotomies with an ice pick and the fact that women could be committed by husbands simply for disobeying them.

I hope this book when released has pictures of the asylum structures she mentions at their core when England was attempting to reform their asylums. I had difficulty picturing some of them, especially since the author describes them such as the reader should be familiar with these structures. I am neither an architect nor a Brit, so most England asylums wouldn't be familiar to me.

The book does focus primary on the UK but there is some discussion of the US and other parts of the world.

My one issue is with the structure. The book seemed chaotic in it's organization, almost as though the writer had organized her chapters and then felt she should add something else here or there that made them go on far too long. While a nonfiction book doesn't usually read like a novel, this one felt more like I was reading a research paper than a book. Since this is an ARC, the final version will hopefully be more polished.

Overall, a fascinating glimpse into a slice of history of mental illness and its treatment. Sadly, treatments and stigma for the diagnosis have not much changed even since Victorian times.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kera Marie
4.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking and informative
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2023
This was an eye opening deep dive into the history to insanity and the asylum, written with great detail, but not densely.

I learned many new things I had no knowledge of. This goes over the good and the bad. How poorly the mentally ill had been treated, how those without mental illness, but just undesirable were locked away under the pretense of being deemed insane. This goes into the science behind it all, the discoveries and the growth of humane practices.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking to further inform themselves about the history of asylums and scope of how medicine and procedure has changed through the centuries. This was so compelling!
Helpful
 Report