A Space of Their Own: The Archaeology of Nineteenth Century Lunatic Asylums in Britain, South Australia and Tasmania

Download or read book A Space of Their Own: The Archaeology of Nineteenth Century Lunatic Asylums in Britain, South Australia and Tasmania written by Susan Piddock and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Employing the considerable archaeological and historical skills in her armory, Susan Piddock tries to lift the lid on the lunatic asylums of years gone by. Films and television programs have portrayed them as places of horror where the patients are restrained and left to listen to the cries of their fellow inmates in despair. But what was the world of nineteenth century lunatic asylums really like? Are these images true, or are we laboring under a misunderstanding?