Out of His Mind

Masculinity and Mental Illness in Victorian Britain

Amy Milne-Smith

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Hardback

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English

Manchester University Press
22 March 2022

Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900; Social & cultural history; Gender studies: men; Care of the mentally ill

Series: Gender in History

Out of His Mind is a socio-cultural study of the madman in Victorian society; through in-depth case studies and broad surveys of emergent trends it explores popular anxieties about health, gender, and modern life.

Out of His Mind interrogates how Victorians made sense of the madman as both a social reality and a cultural representation. Even at the height of enthusiasm for the curative powers of nineteenth-century psychiatry, to be certified as a lunatic meant a loss of one's freedom and in many ways one's identify. Because men had the most power and authority in Victorian Britain, this also meant they had the most to lose. The madman was often a marginal figure, confined in private homes, hospitals, and asylums. Yet as a cultural phenomenon he loomed large, tapping into broader social anxieties about respectability, masculine self-control, and fears of degeneration. Using a wealth of case notes, press accounts, literature, medical and government reports, this text provides a rich window into public understandings and personal experiences of men's insanity.

By: Amy Milne-Smith
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 526g
ISBN: 9781526155030
ISBN 10: 1526155036
Series: Gender in History
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 22 March 2022
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Amy Milne-Smith is Professor of History at Wilfrid Laurier University

Reviews for Out of His Mind: Masculinity and Mental Illness in Victorian Britain

'An original contribution to our understanding of how gender, and especially masculinity, impacted the experience and representation of madness in Victorian Britain.' Katie Barclay, The American Historical Review 'Out of His Mind builds upon and strengthens work already done in the history of science to destabilise gendered notions of scientific and medical authority.' Heather Ellis, Women's History Review 'Amy Milne-Smith makes an important contribution to historical understandings of the multi-dimensional interactions between gender and mental health, encompassing the medical, social, attitudinal and cultural.' Leonard Smith, Cultural and Social History 'Out of His Mind contributes to the recent, growing scholarship on the history of disability and mental health... Milne-Smith’s range of sources make this work a compelling read.' H-Disability -- .