Idiocy, Imbecility and Insanity in Victorian Society - Caterham Asylum, 1867-1911 (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2020)

This book explores the understudied history of the so-called 'incurables' in the Victorian period, the people identified as idiots, imbeciles and the weak-minded, as opposed to those thought to have curable conditions. It focuses on Caterham, England's first state imbecile asylum, and analyses its founding, purpose, character, and most importantly, its residents, innovatively recreating the biographies of these people. Created to relieve pressure on London's overcrowded workhouses, Caterham opened in September 1870. It was originally intended as a long-stay institution for the chronic and incurable insane paupers of the metropolis, more commonly referred to as idiots and imbeciles. This purpose instantly differentiates Caterham from the more familiar, and more researched, lunatic asylums, which were predicated on the notion of cure and restoration of the senses. Indeed Caterham, built following the welfare and sanitary reforms of the late 1860s, was an important feature of the Victorian institutional landscape, and it represented a shift in social, medical and political responsibility towards the care and management of idiot and imbecile paupers.

General

Imprint:	Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Country of origin:	Switzerland
Series:	Mental Health in Historical Perspective
Release date:	February 2020
First published:	2020
Authors:	Stef Eastoe
Dimensions:	210 x 148 x 22mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	212
Edition:	1st ed. 2020
ISBN-13:	978-3-03-027334-7
Categories:	Books > Medicine > General issues > History of medicine Books > Medicine > Other branches of medicine > Psychiatry Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > History of science Books > Humanities > History > British & Irish history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > Medicine > General issues > Health systems & services > Mental health services Books > History > British & Irish history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history
LSN:	3-03-027334-2
Barcode:	9783030273347

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