I enjoyed this book! I don’t want to give much away because it’s really interesting but I couldn’t put it down through wanting to know more

This took me quite a while to get through because its really heavily factual. It's interesting and well-written but also very bleak content that can be difficult to read at times. This book has been extremely well-researched and will really interest fans of history and true crime.

Thank you for this copy. This book gave such a good insight into Broadmoor. I felt so sad seeing what some patients went through years ago.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
So the summary of the book had me super interested. I love true stories about asylums and their history and the people who have been there.
This was well researched and a decent book.
My main complaint would be to have less people covered in the book and to go into more detail about the ones that would be covered. Some were super short little blurbs that told mainly about the way the person ended up in the asylum and when they died. However it didn’t go into detail about what they dealt with while they were there. The tales of the running of the asylum and what went on there were much more interesting and what I was expecting.
An overall decent job by the author.

Content Warning:
This book deals with mental illness, violence, murder, suicide, poisoning, and attempted assassination. This book may challenge some readers' view on morality, justice, and sanity in the Victorian Era.

Why I Selected It:
I am a true crime buff and knew about Broadmoor from different cases. Since I am familiar with the facility and love criminal profiles, I knew I would be interested in reading this.

Summary:
Broadmoor Inmates by Nicola Sly is a fascinating and well-researched book that explores the life and crimes of some of the most notorious inmates of Broadmoor, England's first criminal lunatic asylum. The book ranges from the Victorian period when Broadmoor was established to confine and treat those deemed insane and dangerous to society. Nicola Sly digs into historical records and tells us the stories of inmates such as Christiana Edmunds, who poisoned several people in Brighton to divert suspicion after attempting to murder her love rival, counterfeiter Emma Jackson, and serial arsonist John Green.

We also learn about how the inmates were treated at Broadmoor and daily life. It's an excellent book for anyone interested in historical true crime, mental health, and Victorian England.

Opinion
I liked how the book was organized and provided background information on the inmates, photographs, and illustrations. I liked learning about the evolution of psychiatry and psychology over time. I would recommend this book for any true crime lover or anyone who is interested in British/Victorian history. If I could change one thing, I'd make it a bit easier to read. The small print and heavy text could be intimidating, but if you're interested in the topic, it will fly by.

The summary pretty much just gives you what's in its pages. Maybe my expectations were too high. I understand it's based on historical data, and finding information in that time is exceeding difficult, but I felt the information given offered essentially nothing to the reader. Very short blurbs about each person, little to no information on what took place IN Broadmoor, which was what I thought the book would contain.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This book is a must for anyone with an interest in true crime & history. So fascinating to see how the criminally insane were treated, with stories about individual people from 1800 and up to 1956. Each one unique and detailed. I particularly liked the photos of the locations and judges involved. A great deal of effort and research must have gone into this book. Excellent! #BroadmoorInmates #NicolaSly @netgalley

I received a free copy of, Broadmoor Inmates, by Nicola Sly, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. True crime tales of life and death in the asylum. The Broadmoor is am infamous asylum, just like the people who went there. Some people did not actually need to be there, but where there regardless. The Broadmoor open in 1863, and took women in 1863. This is a fascinating history lesson on the people who stayed at the Broadmoor.

This was an okay read- I was a bit disappointed as I was hoping for more information about what life was like inside Broadmoor. This book focused on how people ended up in there in there. It is in chronological order and I enjoyed dipping in and out of the case studies. Some were a little complicated to follow. I liked the photos and it would make a nice book in a waiting room or bathroom as you can dip in and out.

I found this book extremely interesting. It had many background stories describing the events leading up to being committed to Broadmoor asylum. It was disappointing to not hear more about life within the asylum, as I did expect this from the title. However, I found it a compelling read and found myself looking forward to reading it each night. Some of the accounts were highly intriguing. It was obviously well researched and concisely written. Overall, it was a very enjoyable and informative read, yet limited by the lack of insight into Broadmoor life.

Interesting coffee table book as just lots of little stories about crimes from 1800s and how they were sent to broadmoor, just wish they were more indepth stories, enjoyed picking up and reading a few between other books though.
Some of the editing needs work too but I'm sure the finished product will be a lot better.

This is an intriguing collection of true stories of how people became Inmates of Broadmoor. The immates are both men and women. The facg are clearly laid out in each case case. The stories ate very Samy . I would like to have read of other Inmates who fif something other than murder. However i respect the stories maybe be reflective of that era. In all cases police and help from passerbys and neightbour appeared quickly and withpit hesitation
Sadly the world has changed. At times due to its nature this could depressed ypu. Thank you net gallery and publisher gor my arc. This is a solid 4 star tead

Broadmoor Inmates: True Crime Tales of Life and Death in the Asylum’ brings together the histories of people who died in Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, each having committed a crime that led to them being pronounced criminally insane, necessitating their confinement and containment for their own protection, as well as that of the public. Nowadays, staff have a wide range of therapeutic tools at their disposal but historically the only treatment offered to patients was work, leisure activities and abundant fresh air. All human life is here – the addicts, the mentally deranged, the delusional, the tragic and the chronically and postnatally depressed – men and women whose acts of madness led them to be reviled and feared, but who were often as much victims of their own internal demons as were those they harmed.

This is a well-researched and illustrated book. Easy to read and, in parts, quite astonishing. A fascinating subject, well covered.

This is a collection of biographies of people who were sent to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Most are from the 1800's and give a fascinating look at life then. I really enjoyed it.

I gave this book 4 stars. Great history about the life of mental illness in patients. I really enjoyed it as I use to work in a mental hospital as a unit secretary

What a fascinating book. I loved it. Following the crimes of people who were sent to serve time in Broadmoor instead of a prison. From its opening and first patients through to almost modern day. Ordinary people who have committed heinous crimes, mainly against family members.
For anyone who likes history or true crime books.

Quite an interesting set of short tales of people who committed a crime and were committed to broadmoor. It’s written chronologically, and starts with the crime, how they were caught, then why they were sent there. There’s quite a number of cases, but they’re all very short, and sadly can get a bit repetitive

Anyone who loves first hand accounts of how people lived back in the day will love the history of Broadmoor inmates. It tells the story of what happened right before they arrived and how long they stayed in Broadmoor The stories in this book range from before women were allowed at Broadmoor and after their stayed that it’s been so long you even find yourself laughing at the craziness of the time and place. Women weren’t allowed in Broadmoor until 1860 but once they were they flooded the rooms and although it didn’t say I’m sure most of them were there for having bad monthly cramps or not agreeing with their husband but some of their due to murder such as infanticide in much worse not that it gets any worse than killing your own child but despite the stories being sad and tragic they’re also very interesting I love historical anything and this one is in my top 10 favorite reads for the year I’ve read many books on the hospital but this one is packed full of how people wound up there and how some of them never left. This is a book I highly recommend it has a definite five star read it just another great book I’ve received from pen and sword history I want to thank net galley and pin and Sword history for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

A masterpiece for anyone with a fascination for historical true crime and what became of the perpetrators.
Informative, sad and sometimes horrific.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

A very interesting book with a look at many of the inmates, both men and women, who were sent to Broadmoor Asylum mostly due to murder charges. What I loved about this book was it didn't get bogged down with unnecessary detail. Each "story" was concise and to the point with just the right amount of information to keep it interesting. The author certainly put her time in for this book. There are plenty of pictures as well which is always a bonus for me. What I found intriguing is how quickly neighbors rushed to help, police responded and doctors arrived on scene. Never happens now. You won't be disappointed with this book. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.