Madness and Society in Eighteenth-Century Scotland

How did people view mental health problems in the eighteenth century, and what do the attitudes of ordinary people towards those afflicted tell us about the values of society at that time? Professor Houston draws upon a wide range of contemporary sources including asylum documents, civil and criminal court records to present unique insights into the issues around madness, including the written and spoken words of sufferers themselves. This is a detailed yet profoundly humane and compassionate study of the everyday experiences of those suffering mental impairments ranging from idiocy to lunacy, and an exploration into the meaning of this for society in the eighteenth century.