The Confinement of the Insane

This collection of essays explores the development of the lunatic asylum and the concept of confinement for those considered insane in different national contexts over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Leading scholars in the field of medical history have contributed extensive primary research through individual case studies in the context of the legal social economic and political situations of thirteen different countries. The book represents the first truly international history of the mental hospital and is therefore a landmark comparative study in the history of medicine.