Victorian Lunacy: Richard M. Bucke and the Practice of Late Nineteenth-Century Psychiatry (Cambridge Studies in the History of Medicine) [Hardcover]

Samuel Edward Dole Shortt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 1986 | ISBN-10: 0521309999 | ISBN-13: 978-0521309998

Using the career of Richard M. Bucke at the London Asylum in Canada as its focus, this 1986 book explores the theory and practice of late nineteenth-century psychiatry. The study describes the medical context that nurtured Victorian alienists, while their professional sphere - the asylum - is considered as an autonomous social community, often at odds with the intentions of its ostensible masters. Psychiatric theory is discussed less as an objective body of biomedical knowledge than as a product of the social turmoil that characterized the final decades of the nineteenth century. Unlike many other studies of nineteenth-century psychiatry, this book does not restrict itself to a single national experience, but adopts an explicitly Anglo-American perspective. Rather than restricting attention to political or institutional factors, it accords major significance to the role of ideas in determining the character of late Victorian psychiatry.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

This 1986 book explores the theory and practice of late nineteenth-century psychiatry. Psychiatric theory is discussed less as an objective body of biomedical knowledge than as a product of the social turmoil that characterized the final decades of the nineteenth century.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (July 25, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521309999
• ISBN-13: 978-0521309998
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,222,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( R ) > Richard, Maurice

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.