Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors from 1800

Mad, Bad and Sad traces women's mental health treatment from 1800 to modern times, focusing on both patients and practitioners. The book examines historical figures like Mary Lamb and Zelda Fitzgerald alongside lesser-known women who experienced various forms of psychiatric care. The narrative moves through major developments in mental health care, from Victorian asylums to the rise of psychoanalysis and modern pharmacology. Mental illness diagnoses and their cultural contexts receive particular attention, including hysteria, depression, eating disorders, and borderline personality disorder. Through case studies and medical records, Appignanesi documents the changing relationship between women and their doctors, as well as evolving theories about the female mind. The text incorporates perspectives from patients, doctors, and families while examining therapeutic approaches across different eras. This extensively researched work reveals the complex intersection of gender, power, and medicine in Western society. The book raises questions about how culture shapes our understanding of mental illness and whether progress in treatment has truly been achieved.

Readers appreciate the detailed historical research and compelling narratives of notable women patients and practitioners in psychiatric care. Many note the book provides context for how mental health treatment of women evolved, with several reviewers highlighting the connections drawn between medical practices and social conditions. Positive reviews focus on the author's balanced perspective and inclusion of both famous cases (Virginia Woolf, Marilyn Monroe) and lesser-known stories from medical archives. Common criticisms include the book's length (544 pages) and dense academic writing style. Some readers found the chronological structure confusing and noted repetitive sections. Several reviews mention difficulty following the numerous case studies and historical figures introduced. Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (890 ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (52 ratings) LibraryThing: 3.8/5 (41 ratings) "Meticulously researched but occasionally overwhelming in detail" summarizes a common reader sentiment expressed across multiple platforms.

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman A collection of writings that documents women's psychological confinement and medical treatment in the nineteenth century through fiction and autobiography.

Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris by Aimee Laberge This historical account examines three women patients at Paris's Salpetriere Hospital to reveal how hysteria diagnoses shaped medical understanding of women's mental health.

Women and Madness by Phyllis Chesler A feminist analysis tracks how psychiatric practices have pathologized women's behavior across different cultures and time periods.

The Female Malady: Women, Madness and English Culture, 1830-1980 by Elaine Showalter This cultural history explores the connection between female mental illness and English psychiatry through case studies and medical records.

Hysteria: The Biography by Andrew Scull A chronological examination traces hysteria's evolution from ancient times through modern medicine, focusing on its impact on women's treatment in mental health.

🔹 Lisa Appignanesi drew inspiration for the book from her personal experiences with postpartum depression, which led her to explore how women's mental health has been diagnosed and treated throughout history. 💫 The book reveals that in Victorian England, women could be institutionalized for behaviors as simple as reading too many novels or showing interest in politics. 🔹 During research for the book, Appignanesi discovered that Zelda Fitzgerald's schizophrenia diagnosis might have been influenced more by her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald's jealousy of her artistic pursuits than by genuine mental illness. 💫 The work examines how the roles of "mind doctors" evolved from mostly male alienists in asylums to modern psychiatrists and psychotherapists, with women gradually entering these professions in greater numbers. 🔹 The book explores how diagnoses like "hysteria" disappeared from medical terminology while new conditions like borderline personality disorder emerged - with women consistently being the primary patients for these evolving diagnoses.