Ep. 9: In and Out of the Asylum

In this episode we visit Victorian Asylums and examine how the intentions of those who built and operated these places were partly in response to the revelations of secrets of previous eras, the madwoman held in the country house attic, or the madman cruelly shackled then forgotten in a dark corner of the workhouse. The Victorian reaction was to create a bureaucracy for dealing with ordinary people’s mental illness.

Throughout the era Victorian ideals of public health tarnished with some speed. Asylums filled rapidly and more and more were built, because the Victorians felt they needed them. But despite the ideals of those who ran them, life in public asylums could be hard.

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Brilliant

This was a perfect podcast, I loved every second of it. Perfect for fans of crime in the Victorian era.