Maud Lovell has been at Angelton Lunatic Asylum for five years. She is not sure how she came to be there and knows nothing beyond its four walls. She is hysterical, distressed, untrustworthy. Badly unstable and prone to violence. Or so she has been told.
When a new doctor arrives, keen to experiment with the revolutionary practice of medical hypnosis, Maud's lack of history makes her the perfect case study. But as Doctor Dimmond delves deeper into the past, it becomes clear that confinement and high doses are there to keep her silent.
When Maud finally remembers what has been done to her, and by whom, her mind turns to her past and to revenge.
Comment: If I remember correctly, I got interested in this book while vaguely browsing others which were similar to another one I've read in December, which had an asylum as the setting. That other book wasn't as greatly executed as I would have liked, which was disappointing to my general interest in similar plots, but since I already had this one, I might as well try it anyway...
Maud is a patient who has been at Angelton Lunatic Asylum for the past five years. She has been labeled by the director as unstable and prone to violence but when a new doctor starts working at the asylum, he realizes she is a perfect example of an amnesic condition. This makes him eager to include her in a new experimental treatment with hypnosis, and as the sessions go on, more on Maud's past is revealed, until they learn why she was taken to the asylum. But will the truth about her be something everyone would want to be known?
As a whole, this story did feel a bit more consistent than the other one I had read, just by comparing the execution. I've also read the author's notes in which mrs Coles says she lives nearby to the real Angelton Asylum, which she used as abase for this story, which means this did have a very interesting element. While the story is entirely fictional, many of the elements are based on real patients and real situations that took place there.
The story is set in 1906 and this clearly means that women had no rights and could be "treated" just by the whims of those around them, with no proper medical treatment. One could say mental illnesses were not as easy to diagnose or as easy to understand as now, yes, but women's rights were practically nonexistent and this means all women were certainly easier targets, for many reasons which not only real ones. Maud, the main character, does seem to be unstable, but it's obvious from the start that she was placed at the asylum for other reasons than not real mental health needs.
There is one element I wasn't too fond of, but I can understand why the author chose to use it. Since Maud is the main character, everything is told from her POV and to better distinguish when she is being hypnotized, her thoughts in that condition are graphically presented in the text in italic. I will confess it can be a bit tiring to read several continuous paragraphs in italic and my focus did wander sometimes. I cannot precise now how many sessions of hypnosis did happen, but there are many and, of course, each one would end with some kind of revelation/confirmation.
The hypnosis element is quite interesting and not only in relation to fictional stories. I've read several books that have this theme, even in nonfiction, and this is certainly a fascinating notion. In 1906, though, it was seen as a non traditional method, despite the fact hypnosis had been a known "treatment" for several centuries, although with different names and/or an understanding of what it meant. Regarding this, Maud is being part of an experiment yes, which had been approved by the directors of the asylum but which wasn't conducted in a way we would now call impartial.
While Maud undergoes these sessions, her daily life is still very complicated and she has strange recollections and needs, such as the need to go to the river nearby, which people at the asylum see as part of her lunacy. It is a fact these asylums were not good places, nor helpful, and certainly did not offer proper medical treatments and humane conditions. Thus, I felt sorry for Maud, especially when we start learning what was done to her and why. I would say this story has a slight tone of mystery and suspense but nothing that is truly surprising.
Closer to the end, we finally learn what happened and it was as terrible as one could imagine. However, the story doesn't end there and Maud still has something to do after she finally remembers what her mind tried to protect her from, which is why she had some sort of amnesia. I will say I wasn't impressed, at all, with this tactic of having things go in the chosen direction after the big reveal. It made it seem as if all the steps taken into this moment loose importance. For instance, all the connection with the doctor who helped her and the interactions with other people at the asylum were now simple secondary issues, as if the story had not be so intensely focused on the hypnosis scenes.
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