Those They Called Idiots: The Idea of the Disabled Mind from 1700 to the Present Day

by Simon Jarrett

Those They Called Idiots traces the little-known lives of people with learning disabilities from the communities of eighteenth-century England to the nineteenth-century asylum and care in today's society. Using evidence from civil and criminal court-rooms, joke books, slang dictionaries, novels, art and caricature, it explores the explosive intermingling of ideas about intelligence and race, while bringing into sharp focus the lives of people often seen as the most marginalized in society.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

414 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2020

Reviews

[Tom Almeroth-Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating, meticulously researched and deeply moving book which I would recommend to anyone interested in British (esp.), early modern, modern, social, scientific and cultural history, as well as disability history.

Jarrett’s writing is consistently clear and engaging (even when explaining complex legal issues) and crucially, is packed with extraordinary details of forgotten lives.

Anyone with a personal or professional connection to learning disabilities will, of course, find this book particularly powerful. But there is so much here to inspire, delight, shock, horrify and warn readers of all kinds. As a father to a young child with learning disabilities, I find it really empowering and reassuring to know that this book and its call for greater acceptance are out in the world.

If you are worried that this topic must make for depressing reading, please don't let this put you off. Jarrett doesn’t shy away from upsetting issues and events but page after page, this book is full of love and kindness. I was particularly moved by 18th century examples of friends and neighbours rushing to defend so-called “idiots” in court, often putting their own lives on the line to do so. I was left with a really strong desire to meet, talk to and hug so many of the wonderful, determined and kind people brilliantly described in the book.

This is one of the finest history books I’ve read and a much-needed force for good.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5. An incredibly thorough and fascinating account of a sub section of history. Slightly repetitive at times but I learnt SO much, especially about colonisation and the thought processes behind it at the time which I wasn’t expecting. Would read other books by this author.

[Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

great historical perspectivve on perceptions and conceptualization of idiocy and feeble-mindedness from the 18th century... however, the ideological agenda is pretty clear (e.g., "Is the
murderous beast of the institution on the march again?") and many issues are papered over

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating history of how the West has treated people with learning disabilities.

[Beachcòmah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Extremely well researched and written by someone who worked in the field of mental illness for many years.

[Rosemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a work project, as I needed background information on the development of the place of people with learning disabilities and how they were conceptualised in society in the past, and this book was recommended to me. It is really, really fascinating and makes a coherent argument as well as making a clear connection between the changes in attitudes to disabled people and indigenous peoples in colonised countries. Well worth the time and effort.

[Nyika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent history of the treatment of learning disabled people from the 18th century to the modern day. Accessible, readable, and very well researched. It only drops a star as I would have been interested to know more about life inside the asylums, and to have heard more of the voices of people with learning disabilities. That aside, extremely recommended.

[Alexander Ballantyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a health professional this is the most depressing book I've read in a long time.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugely interesting and eye-opening. The information in this book deserves to be more widely known.

I highly recommend reading this book.

[Sarah Smart · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible insight into how learning disabled people were treated within the UK throughout history and how that impacts how they are treated now.