A Double Life: A Biography of Charles and Mary Lamb

by Sarah Burton

Charles and Mary Lamb were part of London's famous literary network in the early 19th century. But they were also siblings tied together by a horrific event. In September 1796, Mary murdered her mother with a carving knife during a fit of insanity as the family prepared for dinner. Charles, who was only 21 at the time, took it upon himself to care for his sister throughout her life as she swung between sanity and madness. Meanwhile, Charles also suffered from severe depressions and alcoholism and at one point had to admit himself to the Hoxton madhouse. This account of Charles and Mary Lamb reaches to the heart of early 19th-century London, meeting its eccentrics and its literary giants. It also visits the city's darker corners, where poverty stalked rented rooms and madhouses concealed terrible abuse.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Biography Memoir

Hardcover

First published August 28, 2003

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles and Mary Lamb, brother and sister, achieved some literary distinction in early nineteenth century England. She was afflicted with what we would now likely diagnose as Bipolar Disorder [killing their mother during her first attack:] and he suffered from periodic depressive episodes and alcoholism. As their lives were well documented through their writings and comments of friends {Coleridge, Wordsworth etc] this dual biography provides a remarkable glimpse into the course of these psychological disorders. One finds beautiful descriptions of what it was like for friends to listen to Mary as she entered an episode of illness and intriguing details about the treatment of mental illness such as the fact that Charles and Mary owned a straitjacket which the took with them when they traveled in case she became ill. Burton is a very thoughtful biographer making this book a pleasure to read.

[Jodi Guerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a meticulously researched and lively related biography. Highly recommend!

[Catie]

Recommended in Slightly Foxed No. 64 Winter 2019

[Fran Capener · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very sad but sweet book about brother and sister, mental health and literature. Highlighting how society has changed for better and worse.