The Unravelling of Mary Reddish

by David Whitfield

Nottingham, 1827.

Mary Reddish, a young housemaid unjustly committed after defying her employer’s advances, must navigate the brutal treatments of the county asylum while trying to prove her sanity. Meanwhile, Ann and Thomas Morris, the asylum’s matron and director, struggle to uphold humane practices against outdated medical methods that haunt the institution.

As Mary forms an unlikely alliance with a fellow patient, she finds herself at the centre of a battle between compassion and cruelty that will determine the course of her life – and the future of the asylum itself.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Gothic

320 pages, Paperback

Published February 10, 2026

Reviews

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I learnt a lot whilst reading this and found it really interesting when you think about women’s mental health now (like pmdd etc).

I’d recommend this highly to anyone who’s wanting an extremely well written and researched novel about the treatment in asylums.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable book to start off this year’s reading challenge.
The storytelling was engaging, as were the characters and the detail of the treatment - or rather mistreatment - of the patients within the asylum.
I found it incredibly interesting just how the ‘lunatics’ and ‘idiots’ of the time were diagnosed and thus treated and how many asylums were run as businesses and treatments were prescribed so that it looked to the subscribers that efforts were being made to cure their mental instability.
Thomas and Ann Morris were astounding in their care and duty to the patients, recognising the cruel treatments did nothing to help recovery but instead pushed the patient into further pain and distress. The rotatory chair was an abominable practice and for someone with vertigo I can’t even begin to imagine the sensations and recovery from such cruel treatment.

The book was engaging, well-researched and very interesting. I quickly became hooked onto the stories of Mary Reddish and the Morris family.
A fantastic start to what I hope will be David Whitfield’s continued foray into writing novels.

[Sophy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this story covers a subject I'm passionate about, the medical mistreatment of women, I felt the storytelling of Mary Reddish's case fell somewhat flat.

Perhaps because David Whitfield's background is in journalism, the writing felt emotionless, impassive and a little restrained, almost as if Whitfield was unsure whether to write a fiction or an investigation into past malpractice at the real asylum.

The characters were well meated out but the story arc felt a little off kilter with some erratic pacing and an abrupt ending.

An enjoyable read but not particularly a memorable one or one that I'm going to return to.

[Nigel Dolby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully researched and written to the extent whereby you genuinely cared for the characters and felt as though you were sharing their experiences.
Because the author is clearly someone with genuine knowledge of and a passion for their local history, it made the book all the more authentic and immersive.

Whilst we should never stop striving to move forward. when you read a book that is written as evocatively as this it stands as a reminder of just how far we have come.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting read

I really enjoyed this book,I found it so unjust and really felt for Mary and Catherine, their treatment and reasons for being admitted were so unfair.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book for a few reasons. Number one is that fact that it is published by Legend Press. I've been reading their books for years now and they never disappoint. Beautifully presented with stunning covers and well edited, they are a joy to read. Number two is the Nottingham setting. I was raised in Nottinghamshire, ironically, my bedroom window looked out over a very famous asylum - not the one in the book - I've always been fascinated by mental health treatments, and finally number three is the historical setting and insight into the various treatments given to patients suffering with mental health issues.

I began reading this the night before I flew out to Rhodes and finished it on the plane the next day. It is a beautifully written, extensively researched novel based on true facts that is both enjoyable and enlightening. As we follow Mary Reddish on her often traumatic journey through the mental health system, becoming a patient at the groundbreaking Nottingham General Lunatic Asylum - the first publicly-funded asylum in England, we are privy to the sometimes brutal and violent methods used by the doctors in charge.

Some of the treatments are incredibly grim, including forced vomiting and diarrhoea, bleeding, blistering with hot irons and in my view, the worst ever treatment, the spinning chair.

This author has created some wonderful characters, it is not just about the asylum and the treatment. There are some superb accompanying stories, with effective and elegant creation of characters and their voices.

This is a brilliant debut novel. So well researched, with a story that grips and often shocks. Highly recommended.

[SammyReedAlot · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a young poor woman 'imprisoned' in a lunatic asylum despite having done nothing wrong, such was the power of status and men and also a husband and wife who ran the asylum and try to bring about more humane treatments.

The asylums and treatments were a product of their time, its hard with today's knowledge understanding why they did what they did - causing blisters was a treatment, making people vomit with the use of chemicals and being spun round in a chair so fast you'd wee and poo yourself before passing out. They were probably seem to have an effect because the patients were quiet afterwards. Getting men to understand women's hormones and effects of child birth.

Thomas and Ann see the path forward and manage to cure Mary, not that she had anything to cure. IRL they set up their own clinic with their more holistic treatments but I don't know how they fared and whether their contribution was taken seriously.

[Karen Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy books about mental health especially when taken from real life events. I was enrapt in Mary’s story, a fictitious account about a real person from historical records as source material. While I did enjoy ‘The Unravelling of Mary Reddish’, there were a couple of things that I felt were not properly explored and the reader was left guessing. I found the reference to the ‘treatment’ fascinating and it is that I think would provide good discussion material. Some of the loose threads that weren’t properly explored would also be a good conversation starter but, we never really learn the truth about Catherine, another patient so this felt lacking. Very well-written, emotive and I feel he captured female relationships well which surprised me that it was written by a man.

[Lindsay Troubridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmmmmmm. I really liked this book at first. I liked the story and the Nottingham setting as that's where I was born so added local interest! BUT. Then towards the end, it became rather a let-down. A very intriguing storyline involving Mary and Mrs Barwick just went nowhere which was annoying. And things such as Mary's total abandonment by her close knit family, who had only ever known her to be a sweet and lovely girl, did not ring true at all. Nether did the 'Glasgow Kiss'!! I would say it was an interesting book that didn't seem sure itself whether it was a novel or non-fiction. Disappointing I'm afraid.

[michelle timperley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional read

Really enjoyed this novel. Living in the grounds of a former lunatic asylum this provided food for thought about the occupants of the building I see everyday and reflect on the power of man and the powerlessness of the most vulnerable in society - predominantly women.

[Mariella Manster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh!

An imagined and deliberately provoking story of a young woman’s life. It’s ok, the writing is a little jerky in some places and then flat in others. The characters are quite flat as well and the story of the Morris’ is all a bit twee.

It’s ok, not great.

[Ellie Brotherton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very underwhelmed by the ending and, although the depiction of the mental asylum and Mary’s journey into it was interesting, I think there wasn’t much plot to the book - nice that was based on a true story.

[Anne Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wronged woman, an armoury of dubious treatments and a director out of his depth: a meticulously researched story of the first county asylum, packed with local detail.

[Alex Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow!

wow! exceptionally well written and absolutely harrowing. a necessary read. The pages took you on a real journey and I felt a deep connection with each character