Most Solitary of Afflictions Madness and Society in Britain, 1700-1900 Andrew Scull

In this elegantly written book, Andrew Scull studies the evolution of the treatment of lunacy in England and Wales, tracing what lies behind the transformations in social practices and beliefs, examining how institutional management of the mad came to replace traditional systems of family and local care, and exposing the striking contrast betwen the utopian expectations of the asylums' founders and the harsh realities of life in these asylums.

Andrew Scull is professor of sociology and science studies, University of California, San Diego. Among his publications are Museums of Madness (1979), Masters of Bedlam (1996), Undertaker of the Mind (2001), and his forthcoming Yale publication, Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Medical Murder and Megalomania.