The Undesirables: The Law that Locked Away a Generation

by Sarah Wise

Through the early twentieth century, 'liberal' Britain locked away thousands of innocent people. By 1950, an estimated 50,000 people had been deemed ‘defective’ by the government and detained for life under the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act. Their ‘crimes’ were women with children born outside of wedlock; rebellious teenagers caught shoplifting; those with learning disabilities, speech impediments and chronic illnesses who had struggled in school; and, of course, those who were simply ‘different’. Forcibly removed from their families and confined to a shadow world of specialist facilities in the countryside, they were hidden away and forgotten about – out of sight, out of mind. Through painstaking archival research, award-winning historian Sarah Wise pieces together the lives irrevocably changed by this devastating legislation and provides a compelling study of how early twentieth-century attitudes to class, gender and disability resulted in a nationwide scandal. Horrifyingly, she reveals how these archaic practices and assumptions continue to shape social policy and have led to the unnecessary detention of countless young people with autism and learning disabilities in the present day.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Social Science, Mental Health, British Literature

352 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2025

Reviews

[Amy Bookseller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why have I been putting myself through these types of books lately? The horrors that this book discusses are quite unbelievable. Young girls locked away for life as “mentally defective” due to having babies out of wedlock, kids who were a bit wayward or affected by a parents divorce, put away. And don’t get me started on the eugenics. Well researched and well written, some parts I found boring when it went into certain political policies etc, but that’s just me. I recommend for anyone who likes to read about social injustice, mental health, healthcare in past etc.

[Lis Dorey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hard read. Totally shocking and thought provoking. I will read more of her books.

[Isabella O’Hara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best historical non-fictions I’ve ever read. Written with really gripping narrative rather than it just being a data dump.

This work feels important, largely because history books often fall short in unpacking the broader eugenics movements (with a disproportionate impact on women and girls) that perpetrated the globe in the decades leading up to Nazism.

I also really like when the author breaks the third wall in her writing - she often will emerge from third party narrative to speak directly to the reader about what is and is not in scope for her examination and share more candid opinions on certain topics. A nice touch to keep the reader engaged.

[Fiona Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Undesirables provides a compelling study of how early twentieth-century attitudes to class, gender and disability resulted in a nationwide scandal.Over 50,000 people were locked away, for being poor, having learning disabilities, or because they were unmarried mothers. My Great Aunt Gert was one of them. Her crime? She had premonitions and, for example, would tell her mother to get out an extra cup and saucer because she knew when visitors would be coming round to the house, unexpectedly. This book was absolutely shocking.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[History Today]

In 1919 ‘Bessie B.’, aged 24, was committed to Abingdon Workhouse, known locally as ‘the Grubber’, under the Mental Deficiency Act (MDA) of 1913. She was unmarried, had given birth to four children each with a different father, had syphilis and appeared to be destitute even though she had earned her own living without needing to fall back on Poor Relief. While Bessie showed no signs of mental deficiency, she was certified as a ‘moral imbecile’. Doubts were cast on whether or not she should be detained simply because of her ‘bad character’, but the workhouse medical officer believed that it would be ‘in her own interest’ in order to treat her syphilis. She left the institution five years later, one of the ‘lucky’ few to have got out.

Bessie B. was among the tens of thousands of children and young adults who were labelled ‘idiots’, ‘imbeciles’, ‘feeble minded’ or ‘moral imbeciles’ and forcibly confined in institutions when the MDA came into force on 1 April 1914. The practice of sequestering away young women and men for social and moral infractions such as getting pregnant out of wedlock, petty thieving, vandalism, persistent drunkenness and vagrancy has always been known about, but historians have struggled to ascertain the full extent to which it took place mainly because many records were lost, destroyed or closed under a 100-year rule to protect patient confidentiality.

The social historian Sarah Wise faced these obstacles too. Yet in her work to expose the shocking consequences of the MDA, particularly as it was applied to those who were identified as ‘feeble-minded’ or ‘moral imbeciles’, she has dug deep into the archives to show how a single act of Parliament wrecked tens of thousands of lives in the first half of the 20th century. The Undesirables is as compelling as it is shocking, advancing our knowledge of this shameful episode in leaps and bounds.

Read the rest of the review at HistoryToday.com.

Louise Hide is a Wellcome Trust Fellow in Medical Humanities and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish this had been taught in history class.

Very interesting book: definitely want to look into this further. I feel like the last section (on our era) could have been more detailed, though. I think it would really drive the point home that these things don't just have a clear cut-off point.

I'd also hoped there would be more in-depth case studies, but as mentioned in the book, I think there weren't because it was so hard to piece it together. Truly depressing that that is the case - how many people's lives have just been washed away by this law?

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read but somehow not what I expected. There was just too much boring detail about the laws enacted. I suppose I'd have preferred more personal stories. It was awful that people were locked away, sometimes for their whole life, for simply having had a difficult childhood, an illegitimate child or learning difficulties.

[Linda McPhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book details a history of UK government treatment of people judged to be subnormal or 'difficult' (including unwed mothers) starting with the eugenics movement and continuing to the present day. The same can be chronicled elsewhere, including in the USA. Sad and harrowing.

[Jasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandmother worked as a mental health nurse in the 1970s and 1980s, and she told me about a patient who had been locked up since the 1920s. What was the act that had 'justified' her freedom being ripped away? She called a man an 'offensive' name. When I heard this story many years ago, I thought that there must have been more to her confinment than that, but Sarah Wise's The Undesirables shows that there very likely wasn't. Simply being forthright, especially as a woman, was enough to get a person detained under the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act.

The Undesirables is an unflinching and heartbreaking study of the act that locked thousands of people away in the early to mid 20th century. It delves into the ways in which attitudes towards gender, class, and disability resulted in people being removed from their families and society and imprisoned in so-called 'specialist facilities'.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was highly informative and gave a voice to those who were branded as “mentally defective” during the early 20th century under the 1913 mental deficiency act and how the eugenics movement was highly influential in advocating for mass sterilisation for those deemed as such. It details individual cases and how often those that were perfectly capable of performing everyday tasks were treated as awfully as they were. It details the British government’s plans in setting up “colony’s” whereby the idea was a village type model in large estates where the inmates would look after each other thus ensuring costs were kept low, World War One largely impacted this model and those branded as “mentally defective” were often sent to asylums instead as those large country estates were made into hospitals for those injured servicemen. Would highly recommend this book!

[Shalini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Social history is an important area for reflection around medical practice, and this book about the practice of locking away the undesirables in Britain in recent times (1913- 1959) offers much food for thought. This appalling practice was done in the name of science, led by the eugenics movement and in a large part led by women to address victimisation of women and social purity. The practice of conjuring up panic where previously there was a concern is a tactic that continues today. While psychologists and educationists played a part, the domination by and blind faith in doctors had a big part. This book will hopefully teach those in power, humility. The last chapter delves into areas where deprivation of liberty continues today, social justice is not yet in sight.

[Darren Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A depressing but fascinating look at how successive British Governments continue to create legislation to ‘make better people’.
From the 19th Century, through to the 21st Century, there has been a view that control of reproduction can improve society. But more importantly control of who can reproduce.

From the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913 that allowed single mothers, deaf children, teenagers, the epileptic and more to be incarcerated against their will, sometimes for decades, through to the modern Mental Capacity Act, this is a well researched book.

It’s also an important read as the same arguments, soundbites, and legislation keep circling, and as this book amply demonstrates.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I like to pick up books that I know are going to piss me off, this one did a great job. To be fair reading anything about the history of under privileged people (and / or women) will always do that. Really well documented (the historian in me loves that) and I also really appreciate the little « so where are we today », because let’s not pretend we treat the mentally ill well nowadays.

[Michi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating and profoundly unsettling look into a dark chapter of history that isn't as far behind us as one might hope. I learned a lot but ultimately felt that, particularly the introductory chapters, while obviously required to provide context, could have been somewhat briefer, with more focus given to the stories of individual people who suffered under this system.

[HattieB · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read that got me pondering how society has treated those with mental health struggles. This was a brilliant, heartbreaking and thought provoking book where those it has written about should never be forgotten.

[Alexandra Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised I haven't seen this be talked about more, because I found it to be excellent, and with a lot of relevance. It's very well researched, and does a great job exploring both the wider political and social context, as well as the nitty gritty details and individual stories.

[Victoria Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of information

It’s a good book especially if you are looking for information but found it more like a textbook for university rather than a relaxing read

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t read in one sitting as it’s just so sad what happened in the past. Thank goodness we’re not all locked up today.