Escape from Bedlam, Historical Background

Sources

•     "Madhouses, Mad-Doctors, and Madmen" by Andrew Scull: This book provides an in-depth analysis of the treatment of the mentally ill in the 18th and 19th centuries, offering useful historical context.
•     "Bedlam: London and its Mad" by Catharine Arnold: This book specifically focuses on the history of Bedlam and its patients, making it an excellent source for character ideas and scenario details.
•     "The Architecture of Madness: Insane Asylums in the United States" by Carla Yanni: While this book focuses on American asylums, the discussion of asylum architecture and design principles can be applied to Bedlam as well. This could be particularly useful for designing the physical layout of Bedlam in your scenario.
•     "Asylum: Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals" by Christopher Payne: This book contains many photographs and descriptions of asylums, which can provide inspiration for your descriptions of Bedlam.
•     "The Anatomy of Madness: Essays in the History of Psychiatry" by William F. Bynum, Roy Porter, and Michael Shepherd: A collection of essays that delve into the historical context and specifics of psychiatric practice in the 19th century. This could be useful for designing NPC doctors and treatment methods.
•     "The Discovery of the Asylum: Social Order and Disorder in the New Republic" by David J. Rothman: This book, though focused on American history, provides insights into societal views of mental illness during the time period.
•     Online resources: Websites like the British Library and Wellcome Collection have extensive digital archives, which include documents, images, and articles related to the history of Bedlam and the treatment of mental illness.
•     Journals and Medical Papers: Historical psychiatry journals could provide insights into treatments and theories of the time. The British Journal of Psychiatry has archives going back to the mid-19th century.

Primary Sources

•     Henry Hering's Photographs: Hering, a noted Victorian-era photographer, captured the images of Bethlem Hospital's patients in the 1850s. These photographs, which are some of the earliest examples of the clinical use of photography, provide an intimate, haunting look at the people who lived in the institution.
•     "Life in the Asylum: Patient Letters from Morningside, 1873-1908": While these letters are from an asylum in Scotland, not Bedlam, they do provide first-hand accounts of life in a Victorian-era asylum.
•     Bethlem Hospital Casebooks: These are a series of detailed medical records and patient case histories written by the hospital's doctors. They are stored at the Wellcome Library's archives and are accessible online.
•     "Observations on the General and Improper Treatment of Insanity" by William Charles Ellis: Published in 1820, this book by a physician who worked at various asylums provides an overview of treatment methods and attitudes towards mental illness at the time.
•     "On the Construction and Management of Hospitals for the Insane" by John M. Galt: Again, while not directly about Bedlam, this 1854 book provides valuable insights into the design and management of asylums in the Victorian era.
•     "Life in the Victorian Asylum: The World of Nineteenth Century Mental Health Care" by Mark Stevens: While technically a secondary source, this book makes heavy use of primary sources like patient records, staff notes, and other historical documents from the Victorian era.
•     The Asylum Journal of Mental Science: This is a professional journal that was published during the Victorian era. It contains scientific articles on psychiatric treatment, case studies, and other first-hand information.
•     British Newspaper Archive: This online collection of historic newspapers contains many articles, advertisements, and other documents related to Bedlam and Victorian-era mental health treatment.

Fiction

•     "Fools of Fortune" by William Makepeace Thackeray: In this series of sketches, Thackeray offers a sardonic critique of Bedlam as a place where sane individuals might be mistaken for mad due to the prevailing conditions.
•     "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens: Although not Bedlam itself, the infamous La Force prison featured in this novel is often compared to Bedlam due to the chaotic and dehumanizing conditions it portrays.
•     "Moll Flanders" by Daniel Defoe: The protagonist spends time in Bedlam after being arrested for theft.
•     "Hogarth's Progress" by Peter Ackroyd: In this play, the character of William Hogarth visits Bedlam. It's a reference to the real-life Hogarth's series of paintings, "A Rake's Progress," one of which depicts Bedlam.
•     "Berserk" by Ally Kennen: This young adult novel features a modern-day teenager who discovers his family's connection to a Bedlam inmate from the Victorian era.
•     "Bedlam" by Ally Kennen: This young adult novel tells the story of a girl's exploration into her family's history, which leads her to discover they owned Bedlam Hospital during the Victorian era.
•     "The Alienist" by Caleb Carr: This novel is set in New York City during the late 19th century, and the city's mental hospital is often compared to Bedlam due to the horrific conditions and cruel treatments depicted.
•     "The Bedlam Detective" by Stephen Gallagher: The protagonist of this novel is an investigator for the Lord Chancellor's Visitor in Lunacy, an agency tasked with investigating the sanity of the landed gentry.
•     "Quicksilver" by Neal Stephenson: The Bethlem Royal Hospital is a recurring location in this sprawling historical fiction series.

Layout of the historical Bedlam hospital.

Bethlem Royal Hospital, or Bedlam as it was often called, is one of the world's oldest hospitals for the treatment of mental illness, dating back to the 13th century. Throughout its history, it has moved locations several times within London. Thus, the layout varied significantly over time, and its exact layout during the early Victorian period can be difficult to discern.

However, we do have some information about the hospital's general layout and some of the changes it underwent during its time at Moorfields (1676-1815), St. George's Fields (1815-1930), and its current location at Monks Orchard in West Wickham (1930-present).

The second location, St. George's Fields in Southwark, is where the hospital was during the early Victorian era. This facility was purpose-built as a mental institution and represented a significant departure from the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at Moorfields.

Exterior: The hospital at St. George's Fields was designed in a neoclassical style. It featured a central block with a grand entrance and two wings extending from the center, each wing separated into galleries.

Interior: The interior consisted of long, wide corridors known as "galleries." Each gallery was divided into individual cells for patients. The galleries were segregated by gender, with men and women housed separately.

Grounds: The grounds were more expansive and thoughtfully designed than at Moorfields, featuring gardens where patients could walk and enjoy the outdoors.

Facilities: The hospital included a chapel, a laundry, a kitchen, staff quarters, and other necessary facilities.

The Victorian era was a time of changing attitudes towards mental health, and during this period, the focus started to shift from purely confining the mentally ill to attempting to treat and rehabilitate them. However, conditions at Bedlam during this time were still frequently appalling by modern standards.

For a more detailed understanding of the physical layout, you may want to refer to the "Plains of Bedlam," a series of architectural plans and sections of the Bethlem Hospital at St George's Fields. These were published by the hospital's architect, James Lewis, in 1814. These plans will provide the most accurate representation of the hospital's layout during the Victorian era.

Remember, however, that as Bedlam was an operating mental hospital, much of its interior and operations were not well-documented, and many records have been lost over time. Therefore, any representation will inevitably involve some degree of speculation and interpretation.

Historical Figures

Historical figures associated with Bedlam during the Victorian era are largely staff members or prominent patients whose stories have been passed down. Here are a few:

Sir Alexander Morison (1779-1866): Sir Alexander Morison was a physician who was associated with the hospital from 1835 onwards. He was known for his studies and sketches of the mentally ill, attempting to link physical characteristics to mental illness in a pseudo-science known as physiognomy.

Edward Oxford (1822-1900): Oxford was a patient at Bedlam after he attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria in 1840. Although he was initially sentenced to death, his sentence was commuted to detention at Bedlam after he was found insane.

John Conolly (1794-1866): While not directly involved with Bedlam, Conolly was a leading psychiatrist in Victorian England and a proponent of the "non-restraint" movement, which advocated for the abolition of mechanical restraints in the treatment of the mentally ill. This approach was eventually adopted by Bedlam and other asylums throughout the UK.

Richard Dadd (1817-1886): Dadd was a renowned painter who was admitted to Bedlam after he murdered his father, believing him to be the devil. Despite his mental illness, he continued to paint while in the hospital, producing some of his most famous works.

James Hadfield (1771-1841): Hadfield was admitted to Bedlam after attempting to assassinate King George III in 1800. His trial was instrumental in the development of the insanity defense in British law.

John Charles Bucknill (1817-1897): Bucknill was a prominent psychiatrist of the Victorian era who frequently critiqued Bedlam and other asylums for their treatment of the mentally ill. He was instrumental in pushing for reforms.

Exhibtions and Archives (as of September, 2021)

Bethlem Museum of the Mind: Located on the grounds of the modern Bethlem Royal Hospital in Beckenham, South London, the museum focuses on the history of mental health care and treatment. It hosts a permanent exhibition, which includes art, historic artefacts, and archival materials related to the hospital's history. Key artefacts include Victorian restraining equipment, historic patient admission records, and examples of therapeutic items.

Art Collections: The museum is also home to a significant collection of artworks made by patients throughout the history of the Bethlem Hospital. These include works by Richard Dadd, a noted Victorian-era painter who was a patient at Bethlem, and the Adamson Collection, a significant assortment of artworks created in a therapeutic context at Netherne Hospital.

Bethlem Hospital Archives: Located at the same site as the museum, the archives hold an extensive collection of documents, including patient admission records, casebooks, administrative documents, and architectural plans spanning the hospital's long history. These archives are a key resource for researchers exploring the history of mental health care.

The Museum of the Mind and the Bethlem Hospital Archives help to shed light on the history of Bedlam and provide a space for reflection on the progress and ongoing challenges in mental health care. They offer a perspective on Bedlam far removed from the sensationalised depictions often seen in popular culture. They instead provide a nuanced exploration of the institution's history, its changing treatment practices, and the experiences of its patients.