Journeys Into Madness

<p> At the turn of the century Sigmund Freud's investigation of the mind represented a particular journey into mental illness but it was not the only exploration of this 'territory' in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Sanatoriums were the new tourism destinations psychiatrists were collecting art works produced by patients and writers were developing innovative literary techniques to convey a character's interior life. This collection of essays uses the framework of journeys in order to highlight the diverse artistic cultural and medical responses to a peculiarly Viennese anxiety about the madness of modern times. The travellers of these journeys vary from patients to doctors artists to writers architects to composers and royalty to tourists; in engaging with their histories the contributors reveal the different ways in which madness was experienced and represented in 'Vienna 1900'.</p>