Bedlam

by Greg Hollingshead

Bedlam, Greg Hollingshead’s new novel, tells a dramatic and compelling story of three ordinary people caught up in the turmoil of the late-18th century, their lives inexorably intertwined in a world where nothing is as it seems. Europe, reeling from the French Revolution, is about explode. Conspiracies, plots and paranoia sweep across the country, landing James Tilly Matthews in Bethlem Hospital, a notorious, crumbling home for the insane. Although he is delusional—convinced that a gang of villains is controlling unsuspecting minds by means of a diabolical machine called an “Air Loom”— Matthews appears to be incarcerated for political reasons. Margaret, his beloved wife, spends years trying to free her often lucid husband, but she is repeatedly blocked by her chief adversary, John Haslam, Bethlem’s apothecary and chief administrator. Haslam, torn between his conscience and a desire to further his career through studying his famous patient, becomes another puppet in a game governed by shifting rules and shadowy players. Bedlam creates an indelible portrait of 18th-century London, a city teetering between darkness and light, struggling to find its way to a more just and humane future. In its darkest corners, where noblemen, pickpockets, royalists and republicans jostle one another, where corruption is all in a day’s work, Matthews, Margaret and Haslam must contrive their own destinies. Enlivened with wit and intellectual daring, Bedlam is a novel that pulses with insight and compassion, in which imagination bridges the chasm between fantasy and reality, love and hate.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Canada, 18th Century

478 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Gregory "Greg" Hollingshead, CM is a Canadian novelist. He is currently a professor of English at the University of Alberta. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto Schools and the University of Toronto. Wikipedia

Reviews

[karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

ugh. im not sure if its just me being ill and not able to concentrate, but this was kind of a mess, with moments of beautiful clarity which made me want to keep reading, but mostly moments of sludgy confusing motives and a very distancing narrative. i say no thank you.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally attempted this book in 2011 and didn’t finish it. This time, I couldn’t put it down. This novel is based on the true story of James Tilly Matthews, a tea importer and spy, incarcerated in Bethlem in London in the late 1700s by government orders, and of John Haslam, the leading apothecary responsible for his care. Having worked for a large Psychiatric hospital for the last 13 years, including the tearing down of the old and building of the new, this book reminds me of where we have come from and how far we still have to go.

[Riversue]

I iactually didn't finish this. The first section, which I didn't get passed, is written more or less from the point of view of a mad man - a very hard slog. I must be getting old - I don't want to work this hard any more

[Donna Mcmahon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very unusual book. Because it follows real historical events, and the author has chosen to switch between three viewpoint characters, it is somewhat confusing to follow and doesn't pursue a typical plot line for fiction. I liked the book for the detailed research and for Hollingshead's decision to use a very flawed narrator (the doctor running Bedlam) as a POV. What he's exploring is how people who get into medicine (or other fields) because they want to do good manage to become corrupted by the system and start justifying to themselves what they are doing--even the most egregiously unjustifiable things. While I don't think Hollingshead entirely succeeds, he certainly portrays his character in a way that is tellingly uncomfortable. How many of us go along with things that we don't feel we can change? And truly what is the option? Whistleblowers have unhappy outcomes--they are often fired and/or persecuted. Which is where James Tilly Matthews is--locked up in Bedlam for political reasons.

[Kathie Kolisnyk-pender · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very difficult book to read and navigate.

[Softwear · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reader is forced to navigate labyrinthine sentences to arrive at such insights as "politicians are corrupt," "insane people get maltreated" and "some women are intelligent."

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman tries for years to get her husband out of a mental asylum but, because she’s a woman and he’s a mental patient, neither are listened to.
~
Good quotes:
“No wonder women imagine themselves all lightness and vacancy, when the world would have us so porous.”
~
“In my mind two ideas arose in grim contradiction: If he's this ill, Bethlem is doing it and if he's this ill, Bethlem is where he belongs.”

[Diane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope...can't do it...put this book down after 3 or 4 chapters. Tried my hardest but the writing in the book is not easy and not fun.

[Marilyn Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little tedious in places but the early 19th century feeling comes through. Different time and mores.

[Alyson Mutch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to work very hard to finish this book. It was almost painful. Such a shame. This had such potential.

[Elizabeth Desole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book deals with the true story of James Tilly Matthews, a man incarcerated in Bethlem and his wife and jailer, John Haslam. I couldn't help wondering throughout this historical fiction how much was true and how much was made up. It primarily deals with the London mental asylum of Bethlem (where the word bedlam comes from). The mental health field (as all medical fields at the time) was greatly in flux and people were disputing new ideas, methods and causes for mental disease.
The story also follows closely on the heels of the French Revolution and the English monarchy is frightened that events in France (and the former "colonies") are going to upend their way of governance.
Enter our "hero": a mental patient who is clearly delusional but also had republican leanings (at least) and carries a political secret. At the time, patients were generally kept for only a year in the institution unless there was good evidence that he/she was dangerous. Despite the fact that there isn't an official explanation of why he's locked up or why he can't be released to his caring family, he is kept well over a decade.
The political intrigue is kept a well-guarded secret until the end so much of the book is written as delusional ramblings of the patient (bad), letters from his wife (ok) and diary type entries from the apothecary John Haslam (good). These are are real historical characters, some of whom were published or written about at the time. It gave a full picture but I felt is was filled up too much with the ramblings of the poor deluded main character

[Samantha Leighanne]

This is going to be a very easy book review, for the fact that I simply could not make myself finish this novel.

Taking place at the end of the 18th century in England, the novel centers around James Tilly Matthews, a man who has been institutionalized seemingly without reason. The time period in which this novel takes place, if you happened to have opposite political views, you could be jailed, killed, or institutionalized. Both Margaret Matthews, his wife, and the chief apothecary of the institution, John Haslam, are struggling to find the reason that James is institutionalized.

Though this is based on historical events, I could not make myself continue reading this book. I was interested at the very beginning, and the further I went, the further my mind slipped away from it. Maybe I'll pick it up one day and finish it, but right now, I just can't.

I would recommend this for anyone that enjoys historical fiction. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did with it.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a book found on a bookstore shelf that I thought looked cool. Not really a mystery, or horror, or adventure, or thriller, or whatever. Well written, would probably be interesting for mental health professionals or people interested in the history of mental health care.

Oftentimes switching narrators, as this book does, is a problem and stops the flow, but it definitely works here.

I gave it 3 stars as I always rate books more on how much I enjoyed them... I don't pretend to be a professional reviewer. For me, there were a few points of digression that didn't really move the story along nor did they give all that much important insight into the characters. 25-50 fewer pages might have helped for me, but others may love the background. Overall enjoyable.

[Scott Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel is based on the real lives of James Tilly Matthews and John Haslam. Based on Haslam's observations, Matthews is generally considered to have been schizophrenic. The novel is written in the first person from the perspectives of Haslam, Matthews and Matthews' wife. My principle criticism is that the voices of the three characters didn't seem substantially different from one another.

The story seems to be a fairly straightforward and accurate account of the events of Matthews' confinement in Bethlem. Unfortunately, the text is mostly sort of lifeless. It wasn't especially entertaining.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually, this is well-written, apparently as thoroughly researched as a history book. I believe it is about an actual case of a real man and his wife which occurred in the late 18th century. I couldn't get though it, however, because it is unremittingly grim. I have done a lot of research with mentally ill patients. Fortunately, in modern hospitals in which patients are treated with care, aand with modern understanding, but this is so well-written, I felt as if I were in the Hell of Bedlam, unjustifiably left to rot for years.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the whole a good book. Well crafted, interesting, characters I mostly cared about and set in the period of history about which I know little and in which I am quite interested. The writing is highly stylized in a manner that, I suspect, is consistent with the period. But it made the writing, occasionally, an effort to read--an effort I can't say was rewarded 100% of the time. The narration shifts between about a half dozen voices--a risk if your reader isn't equally invested in all those voices. And I wasn't.

[Kali]

Did not finish. It was too verbose for one thing. Found myself skimming/skipping entire paragraphs very early on. Also, found the subject of the novel didn't seem to quite fit the blurb's description. I was hoping for an account of a wrongly imprisoned SANE man in a mental asylum, but the man clearly ISN'T sane from the get-go and his political ramblings and conspiracy theories (and whether his paranoia is actually paranoia or if they're really out to get him) seem to be the focus more so than his imprisonment and experiences in the mad house.

[Tara · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I had a list of books that took me more than five attempts to finish - Bedlam would be #1. A tale of historical fiction set within the walls of notorious Bedlam seemed like a promising read. But the language was dense at times, superfluous at other times, and overall just not captivating enough to keep me interested in getting to the end. Instead, I had to will myself to the end. Disappointing.

[Michelle Griep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bedlam is an interesting read, but not for someone looking for a fast-paced, love-filled bit of historical fiction. This one is more melancholy with a shadow of creepiness. Not that I didn't enjoy that factor, though. Plus, there is a ton of great facts woven in with the tale. So why did I give it a 3? It's not a page-turner. Some parts are just plain slow, as evidenced by the fact that it took me 2 years to get through the entire book.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book tough going. The author is clearly a good writer, but everything moves at a snail's pace, and much of the information imparted is very academic. I was happiest with the chapters narrated by Margaret. I kept waiting for the payoff at the end, and while the last section was my favorite part, I'm not sure it was worth all of the hours spent reading the rest.
I feel bad that I didn't like this better. It seemed a very promising premise.

[(shan) Littlebookcove · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know the history this book is based on as I covered it at school The case was famous and to do with political matters of the 1600s I didn't find it true to fact at all. And You could tell the author Greg isn't from England at all. The love plot was a bit crazy too I mean how can the main char not know his wife is 4 months pregnant before he went loopy??


All in all Not one of my fav books.

[Nedda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall an enjoyable, well-written book. To be honest I only wanted to read it since I thought the cover was cool, but thankfully it wasn't a waste. I like switching narrators so that was a plus for me. 3/5.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very, very interesting. From all points of view of patient in institution in 1800s London. Patient, wife, doctor, others in charge. Hard to get through though.

[Steve P · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate abandoning a book but I just really struggled with this one. Well written and an interesting story but I just got bogged down and wanted to move on to something else.

[Sherah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was slow in some places and fascinating in others. Based on Roy Porter's research.

[Chelsea Mcconkey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's very rare that I don't finish a book. But with this I couldn't do it. I couldn't even make it half way.

[Shellie]

It was a good book, exquisitely written, but it was a little haunting.

[Shauna Buhler · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't actually finish this book....

[Fishsanwitt]

stamped

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stuck going down. Hard to swallow and digest.