Wildthorn
Insane asylums of the 19th century were a bad place to be locked up, particularly for those unfortunate women who were sane when they were committed. Moreover, men (that is, wealthy or well-connected men) were seemingly allowed to define “crazy” in whatever way was convenient. Wildthorn by Jane Eagland joins a strong tradition of novels that deal with these issues.
Louisa Cosgrove is an intelligent and headstrong young woman living in 19th-century England. Her father is a physician, her mother is a physician’s wife and a conformist, and her older brother is her intellectual inferior and a bully. Louisa has never been a “normal” girl. She wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and, despite her mother’s attempts to squeeze this square peg into a round hole, her father encourages her to follow her dreams. But after he dies, Louisa finds herself committed to an insane asylum. At first she is convinced it was a mistake; after all, they think she is “Lucy Childs.” Then she realizes with horror that someone has put her there. Louisa struggles with an impossible conundrum — the more she argues with the authorities, insists upon her true identity and sanity, or suggests that there must be a plot against her, the more she confirms their opinion that she is mad. As expected, if she fights, it only makes her situation worse. Physicians are incompetent (or corrupt) and the staff is either indifferent or sadistic.
Along with Louisa, the reader searches for a way out, hoping for intervention from a caring relative from outside — if only they could be made aware of her plight. But who can be trusted if someone she loves put her there?
