A gripping read about a young woman consigned to an asylum by her family and her attempt to understand and recollect the distressing circumstances that led up to it, where she is now one of the “darlings” of the sinister Dr Rastrick. It is also an interesting study into Victorian attitudes to class, sexuality, morality and mental illness.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to review an advance copy.

Great historical read. I loved it.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book.

A compelling read, I think it was fictional but could have been the truth of many young women confined to lunatic asylums in the 19th century. Accused of immoral behaviour, confined by expectations of marriage and society any rebellion was seen as insanity. Violet’s powerlessness against the patriarchy was terrifying and frustrating in equal measure. The ending was satisfying and strong both in terms of resolution and character.

I think there's a lot of potential and it's good historical fiction. I was attracted by the blurb but the story didn't keep my attention and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I found this a really gripping and exciting read. I found it a little slow in the beginning but it quickly gained momentum and i liked what it did. The writing was done well and i liked how Violet and her friends were written. It did feel like similar books at times and there were times i wish it did something differently. The ending was done well and i like how it was presented as it was potentially went in many different directions.

A disturbing and thought-provoking historical novel set in late Victorian England. It explores the fate of young women in the late nineteenth century through the characters and documented expectations of Victorian society. It is, in part, social history and part introspection of the main character Violet. The book becomes increasingly darker as it details life in an asylum through the evocative stories of the incarcerated women, including Violet. It is atmospheric and gothic and has some surprising twists.

I like the originality.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A gothic mystery set in a Victorian asylum. The genre is very popular but I did not enjoy this particular story and failed to finish.

It is 1886 and Mrs Pring is intent on acquiring a wealthy husband for her daughter but Violet has other ideas. She has known Felix Skipp-Borlase for many years and feels a more brotherly relationship with him, but when her father reveals that he has lost the money he was expecting, Violet agrees to the wedding in order to help the family, despite knowing she does not love him and wants to pursue a career as an artist. All seems to be going to her mother's plan but a few weeks before the wedding a tragedy occurs and the following day Violet awakes to find herself incarcerated in Hillwood Grange Lunatic Asylum.
Poor Violet does not understand why she is there and no one will tell her. Moreover she is allowed no contact with her family and no drawing materials.
The descriptions of the asylum and the other inmates I found fascinating and shocking. The treatment of the mentally ill and women in those days is quite disturbing and Violet's reactions through fear, disgust and determination to get away ring true.
The character of Dr Rastrick I found particularly convincing as a man mainly out to make a name for himself with little or no regard for his patients. Similarly the female wardens, some of whom enjoyed their roles, others who felt they were poorly treated and were little better than the inmates themselves.
Violet is a strange character, some what unconventional and quirky especially for a Victorian lady. She was a bit slow to grow on me but I took to her once she'd been locked up and was rooting for her to get away. The ending came as a surprise, a pleasant surprise and not the easy option the author could have taken.
All in all I enjoyed this and will certainly look out for the author's first book, Wreckers.
With thanks to Netgalley and HQ for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

The Darlings of the Asylum joins the list of historical novels I’ve read in which young women are prevented from pursuing their chosen career, displaying their talents or exercising any independence over their lives by the expectations of family or society. In this case, Violet Pring’s ambition is to become a professional artist. Actually, ambition isn’t quite the right word. Violet’s need to express herself and unleash her vivid imagination is part of her psyche. It’s the thing she lives for and when engaged in drawing or painting she can often lose herself for hours on end in a kind of artistic frenzy. And her paintings, full of sexual imagery, are certainly not the sort of thing genteel ladies of that time are expected to produce.

What Violet definitely doesn’t want is to marry as her mother, in particular, is anxious for her to do. Violet fears that, if she does, even to someone as seemingly understanding as her friend Felix, creating art will be viewed as nothing more than a pastime to be fitted in between tedious domestic duties and meaningless social calls. Violet is encouraged in her artistic ambitions by her art tutor, Miss Fanshaw, a woman who has managed to carve out the sort of independent life for herself Violet would like to emulate, and by rakish artist, Wilf Lilley, who praises Violet’s unconventional, unrestrained style of painting.

When Violet’s artistic impulses are frustrated, her extreme reaction, as well as the nature of her paintings, sees her diagnosed with ‘moral insanity’ and committed to Hillwood Grange Lunatic Asylum (known to the inmates as Hellwood). There she is exposed to the malevolent ministrations of the utterly hateful Dr. Harold Rastrick, a man who displays a perverted misogyny, is a believer in eugenics and carries out foul experiments on a group of female inmates, the ‘darlings’ of the book’s title. At one point, he even ponders the use of vivisection ‘if done humanely’. He is an absolute monster, representing in an extreme way the sort of vile attitudes towards people with mental conditions, learning difficulties and physical disabilities in this period. In fact, these attitudes persisted into the 20th century as we know only too well. Indeed some might argue they still do. As a person with epilepsy (thankfully controlled through medication) it was particularly shocking to see epileptics included in the category of ‘incurables’, ‘freaks of nature’ and ‘imbeciles’.

I confess that for some time I struggled to empathise with Violet although of course I was appalled by the treatment she, and others, receive at the hands of Dr. Rastrick. Violet’s unwavering focus on achieving her own desires means she fails to appreciate until quite late in the book the harm she has unwittingly caused. And although I could understand her desire for freedom, that didn’t mean I felt comfortable about the way she achieves it. However, what I did think was clever is how Violet’s artistic talent enables her to create portraits of her fellow inmates that reflect their individual characters and their humanity, in stark contrast to the ‘identikit’ photographs taken by Dr. Rastrick in which the women resemble ‘ghosts of themselves’.

The Darlings of the Asylum is rich in atmosphere and there’s a real Gothic flavour to the depiction of Hillwood Grange. It’s a dark tale of obsession and the desire for self-expression.

This isn't the genre of book I normally read, but something about it gained my interest and I decided to read outside of my genre for once. Unlike Historical Romance, which is normally light reading, fun, and leaves me feeling happy, this book was the complete opposite. That's not to say that I expected anything different. I mean, how can you read a book about a woman's time in a Victorian Mental Asylum that could be joyous? It is very obvious that the author researched the subject well. The story started slowly, but once Violet woke up in the asylum, not even knowing how she ended up there I was hooked. I couldn't read quickly enough to find out her fate.
This must be one of the very few books that completely takes me by surprise. I had no idea what would happen, there were twists and turns that shocked me yet were believable. The other characters in the asylum could have stories written of their own, they were fascinating cases. Would I read them, no? Not because they wouldn't be good, I am sure they would be. I just confirmed to myself that I should stick to my favourite genre of books. I like to finish a book with a smile on my face and those poor characters' stories wouldn't bring about that outcome.
Violet's story has an ending which I didn't expect, let's just say that it was bittersweet and leave it at that. I don't want to give spoilers. Would I recommend this book? If you like a fascinating, deep storyline, one that will make you very emotional, then yes, this is the book for you. If you want cheerful and uplifting then no it isn't.

In Brighton, at the end of the nineteenth century, Violet Pring dreams about a life for herself. While her family tries to force her into a sensible marriage with her wealthy friend, that would solve all their financial problems, she considers herself an aspiring artist. Encouraged by a famous but controversial painter, Violet decides to stand her ground. Following her desires, she causes a series of scandals, and the consequences are drastic...

The Darlings of the Asylum is a fascinating historical novel. The first half of the story reads like a Victorian book. It has a story, language, atmosphere and ideology, especially concerning the situation of women, typical of Victorian fiction. O’Reilly managed to present the position of young women at the turn of the century in a relevant, detailed and highly readable way. The social standards were strict and unforgiving, and reputation was everything, sometimes to the point of life and death. The slightest misconduct could lead to isolation, cruelty or, like in Violet’s case, a mental institution. This book is an extremely promising read until somewhere in the middle of the book. Then, a sudden plot twist turned the story in a direction I did not expect and did not especially like. In the end, it seemed, at times, like a contemporary novel dressed in a Victorian
costume.

An interesting addition to the number of books on asylum but this felt a little flat for me. Can't quite put my finger on it but there wasn';t as much plot as I think the book needed. The writring was good and although a bit slow to start there was a lot to enjooy. Well worth a read.

I have read several novels that tackle the subject of Victorian women locked away in asylums, sometimes due to depression, anxiety or ‘hysteria’, but often simply because they were an inconvenience to their husbands or families. I was keen to see how Noel O’Reilly would approach the same topic in his new novel, The Darlings of the Asylum.

The story begins in Brighton in 1886 with a marriage being arranged between our narrator Violet Pring and the wealthy Felix Skipp-Borlase. Violet is fond of Felix but she knows she doesn’t love him and doesn’t want to marry him – what she really wants is to be free to pursue a career as an artist and she’s not ready to give up on her dream. The more her mother tries to push her into the marriage, the more Violet tries to resist until things finally reach a climax and a tragedy occurs. The next day, with no memory of what happened, Violet wakes up to find herself incarcerated in Hillwood Grange Lunatic Asylum.

Getting to know the other inhabitants of Hillwood Grange, Violet finds that many of them do have genuine mental health issues – although nothing to warrant the kind of treatment they are receiving in the asylum – but she has no idea why she has been sent here herself. She knows she must have done something terrible, but nobody will tell her what it was and she can barely remember her last night of freedom at all. Allowed only limited contact with family and friends and banned from drawing and painting, Violet is miserable and frightened – particularly when she discovers that the sinister Dr Rastrick may have his own reasons for wanting her in the asylum. Violet must find a way to prove that she is sane and escape from Hillwood Grange, but how can she do that when everyone around her seems to be part of a conspiracy to keep her imprisoned forever?

The Darlings of the Asylum is a fascinating novel, although quite similar to the other books I've read with a Victorian asylum/mental hospital element. Still, whether or not you’ve read much on this topic before, the portrayal of Violet’s plight is disturbing and at times horrifying, as she desperately tries to make herself heard and free herself from the clever and manipulative Dr Rastrick. Violet also makes an effort to befriend some of the other women in Hillwood Grange who are even less fortunate than herself and have been dismissed as insane or used as subjects for experiments rather than receiving the sort of care we would expect them to be given today.

Noel O’Reilly has written the book from Violet’s perspective and although sometimes I find that male authors don’t write in a convincing female ‘voice’ and vice versa, I thought he did a good job here. I could believe in Violet as a Victorian woman, albeit a slightly unconventional one. I was also happy with the way her story ended. It wasn’t quite what I’d expected, but better than some of the alternatives would have been! Now I’ll have to read Noel O’Reilly’s first novel, Wrecker, about shipwrecks on the Cornish coast.

The Darlings Of The Asylum by Noel O’Reilly is a compulsive historical novel that consumed me from the start.
Written in the first person enables the reader to become intimately acquainted with the lead character. We empathise with her feelings of frustration and applaud her bravery and guts.
The novel has two different time periods. As it opens, the reader is very concerned for the fate of whoever is viewing the action.
The tale is set in 1886. It was very much a male dominated society. Women were expected to acquiesce, being subservient to men. If you questioned a male, especially one in authority, life would not always be good for you. A new generation of women were rising up, those who knew what they wanted and were not afraid to say so. They wanted to be seen and heard, with their likes, dislikes and passions. The emerging modern woman risked incarceration in mental asylums, and once in, it was hard to get out.
The lead character was passionate about her art. This could be her undoing… or her saving grace. You must read to see what you think.
Lines between fact and fiction blur in the asylum. Even the modern reader questions what is real – or not.
The Darlings Of The Asylum was written in the Gothic tradition. Gloomy cells, dark corridors and manic behaviour create a dark atmosphere which was more than a little creepy. Rather reminiscent of the first Mrs Rochester in Jane Eyre!
I was completely engrossed in the action, reading the book in mainly just one sitting – once started, I could not put it down. It is a compelling read but not one to be read alone in an old house!
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

In 1886, Violet Pring is avoiding marriage to childhood friend, & wants to have a career as a professional artist. As her behaviour becomes more & more outlandish to her family, Violet seeks for a way to escape her future but wakes up one morning in a strange room. It turns out that she has been committed to an insane asylum but cannot remember anything about being brought there. As her treatment under the lecherous & narcissistic Dr Rastrick begins, Violet discovers that he means to keep her there indefinitely, amongst his other 'Darlings' whom he is using to experiment on for his belief in eugenics.

If a book has the words "Victorian", "asylum", or "gothic" in the synopsis, then it's pretty much guaranteed that I'll read it so all three seemed promising. It started off well. Violet is a character that the reader can empathise with - in the beginning. It must have been difficult to be a woman who wanted to carve their own path in life in Victorian times. I remember once seeing a list of what could get you locked away in an asylum &, especially for women, there were some really innocuous things such as reading too much. I thought the author showed possible conditions & mistreatment at the hands of a non-malicious but indifferent staff at an asylum quite well, as there were probably quite a few that were horrendous for those inside. There was also a good point brought up about how it didn't matter how Violet's older brother, Lance, behaved - no-one questioned his sanity.

What I didn't like was Violet's change from a sympathetic character into an annoyance. Her 'romance' with artist Mr Lilley was just completely weird & unbelievable especially when he inveigled his way into the asylum, as they had absolutely no chemistry. Finally, the fact that the story line unraveled into an unsatisfying ending, whilst a plot thread about hypnotism & a character named 'Eloise' went precisely nowhere, meant that in the end I was rather disappointed.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, HQ, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

The premise drew me in because it stood out as unusual.

I felt for the women of the story, you’re really put in the shoes of the main character and it’s really quite scary to feel what she felt waking up not know why she was in the asylum.

Enjoyable read.

4⭐️ A thrilling, unsettling and all too real gothic tale that’s perfect for fans of The Mad Women’s Ball.

Happy Release Day and thank you so much to @hqstories for sending me a #gifted copy of this book in return for an honest review✨

As a fan of historical romances, especially the female characters who are spinsters that behave scandalously by the standards of society (the ones who have ambition and want to be more than just a mother and wife), Violet was all too familiar and likeable- definitely no ‘shrinking violet’.

What struck me most about this book was the realisation that Violet represents the sinister reality of what those romanticised heroines, the ‘obstinate headstrong’ girls that refused to conform, could have faced if they weren’t fictional creations.

O’Reilly did a great job of portraying Hillwood Grange as a dark and claustrophobic prison that was basically its own entity, governed by the law of Dr Rastrick and I could feel Violet’s panic as though I was committed in Hillwood Grange myself! Dr Rastrick was the most unsettling kind of villain and he felt real to me - he literally made my skin crawl and made me anxious as to what he would do next. The most terrifying thing about him was that his beliefs and the treatments he administered were all things that patients were subjected to in the real world and I felt like Dr Rastrick was really well written!

If you like gothic and historical fiction or enjoyed The Mad Women’s Ball i’d definitely recommend you give this a read.

A captivating read full of emotion and great characters. Violet was an interesting one - supposedly flighty and highly strung I found her fascinating and brave. Trying to set her own rules and live her own life, her story was a stark contrast to the thoughts of the time, of a female finding a good marriage and conforming to society’s wishes. I loved how we got to explore Violet’s thoughts with her as she spent time in the confines of the asylum - understanding her emotions and neuroses was cleverly detailed and added such feeling to the story.
The asylum itself was atmospheric and haunting, giving a feeling that things were happening behind locked doors - almost sinister by implication. I was certainly gripped til the very end.

This was an interesting read. It felt authentic and I enjoyed the writing style but it seemed lacking in a clear purpose.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Brighton 1886. Violet is the narrator. Her family were minor members of the landed gentry, but have since fallen on hard times, they are impoverished, and Violet is needed to make a rich marriage, after all she is 24 and almost left on the shelf.
Felix Skipp Borlase is the type of man that Mama approves of, he is pleasant, good looking , well educated and rich, although his family is nouvelle riche in matters of social standing.Mama tries to persuade Violet that she and Felix should marry, but Violet has other dreams and passions, she wants to be an artist, an occupation that is generally considered as unsuitable for young, unmarried ladies.
Violet is strong minded, wilful and impulsive, probably narcissistic in manner, she doesn’t appreciate how lucky she is. Her art teacher, Miss Fanshawe, introduces her to Wilf Lilley , an artist, and he takes an interest in Violets paintings, they are wild, unconventional in subject matter, and he offers words of advice and encouragement, her head is turned by this praise, and he becomes an obsession., she is infatuated with the idea of a bohemian lifestyle and wants a taste also.
The book then takes a darker turn, and we next meet Violet in an Asylum. She became over emotional and has been incarcerated in Hillwood Grange, run by Dr Harold Rastrick. She cannot remember the chain of events that have led to this fate, and resolves to seek her release, as she is not mad or insane.
Whilst undergoing various treatments, Violet gradually becomes atuned to the distressing cases of her fellow inmates, and starts to listen to their stories and provides comfort by listening.
The Asylum cases are disturbing, locked wards were a feature of Mental Hospitals when I did my Nurse training in the 1970’s, and the reasons why women were placed there were poor, pathetic excuses to the modern mind, insanity and hysteria blamed for a too healthy sexual appetite, or when a female refused to allow her husband to let his friends have sexual access to her body.
How Violet copes with incarceration and still maintains her hope of freedom makes for intriguing reading, this aspect of the book is atmospheric, Gothic, and disturbing, the ulterior motives of the medical profession is ever so slightly creepy, yet psychosis and it’s treatment was in its infancy, thank goodness, things are much better understood now.
I really enjoyed this book, it was tightly written, didn’t apportion blame to a hysterical female, but questioned the methods used, and showed compassion. I found it to be well researched, and I did enjoy the ending, it was perfect and deserved.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers HQ Books for my digital copy, freely given in exchange for my unbiased review. I have rated this as five stars, and will leave reviews to Goodreads and Amazon.