Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was an interesting book. Some of it was a bit repetitive but the longer blurbs about some of the inmates were pretty fascinating. A lot of brutal murders and many parents killing their children. Now a days, a lot of these women would be diagnosed with postpartum depression.

Broadmoor is a well-known psychiatric hospital that originally opened in 1863, but until the 1950s or so, the "criminally insane" people sent there were mostly there for confinement rather than effective treatment.

I've always enjoyed true crime, but having also recently become intrigued by attitudes toward mental illness throughout history, I was excited to have this book fall into my lap. It was, however, somewhat different than I was expecting.

In this book, the author covers the stories of all the people who were admitted in Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, as it was known then, from its founding until about the 1950s. Some of these cases are famous ones (such as Queen Victoria's various stalkers and attempted assassins), but most, some very bizarre indeed, are not known at all today. By drawing upon contemporary newspaper accounts and court documents, the author was able to lay out the progression of the case and how people at the time perceived it.

However, I did wish that the scope of the book was wider. The author tells the stories of the inmates of the asylum in a vignette style, but there's no thread connecting their experiences to everyone else's, or indeed to what was going on more broadly in society at the time. I thought some more background during or between the stories of the inmates would have added a lot to the book, especially for those who might not know as much about the historical context.

What an interesting book, love the history behind it all and the people behind the bars, thoroughly enjoyed it
As always my thanks to NetGalley and publisher Pen & Sword History for the early read

I LOVED this book.

For those who love hearing about the stories of various people, or who have the same weird obsession with insane asylums as I do, they will love this too.

The book is split into various sections, all based on one individual, which makes it easy to jump around as you want. It’s also very easy to get to, with enough information about each one to give eyou a good picture without bogging you done with too much detail.

Broadmoor Inmates in an interesting book detailing the histories of many the inmates of many those who died in Broadmoor during the 19th and early to mid 20th centuries. Many of the inmates stories are very harrowing, and it is dreadful to think that if they had not been judged to be insane, many would have been sentenced to death. I was particularly interested in the chapter about Daniel McNaughton, as I knew it was his case which had changed the criminal law on insanity in England and Wales, and in many other jurisdictions, and it was fascinating to read more about the man that led to this huge change to the law. A very engaging read.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Covers many cases but the writing is dull. No fascinating details. Pretty much reads like police reports. Nothing but the facts, ma'am.
I wish the author would have cancelled all the cases prior to the 1880s and written a lot more extensively on the ones afterwards.
It's been a very long time that Broadmoor or the English government or whomever refused interviews with patients, coverage on their crimes and more or less any visibilty. We just knew they were in there. There's a large public curiosity about these people and the book still needs to be written.

A thoroughly insightful and detailed account of the lives of Broadmoor inmates and how they came to be incarcerated there.
The read is fascinating, if rather depressing, as the tales seem to follow a similar pattern and we see how the mentally ill were treated in past, sometimes not actually that long ago, times.
It is too easy, with hindsight, to make our own assessments about postnatal depression and other forms of mental health issues and the extreme paths these could and had to get to before any help was given, generally the murder of loved one or ones as a tragic outcome.
Similarly on seeing the durations of the incarcerations and the outcomes- always death by whatever means, generally natural causes or suicide this is sobering food for thought.
The historical aspect and detail was excellent and although difficult and very sad to read at times, I’m glad I did and feel I’ve gained a greater insight and appreciation of some very tough lives, both those afflicted and those who were left behind after woefully lacking support. A good read, highly recommended.

My thanks to Nicola Sly and Netgalley.
Honestly, I'm not sure.
This was a bit repetitive. Not the author's fault? Maybe?
Interesting stories. What was missing was the heart.
Sure, some were fucking nuts. Some weren't.
That would take more of an in-depth dive. This was not that.
No, actually. I expected more.

I don't know what it says about me but I'm fascinated to read how "lunatics" were treated in not too distant times, and in particular the histories of Bethlem ("Bedlam" as it became known) and Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum.
Nicola Sly tells the stories of people who committed a crime and were declared criminally insane and sent to Broadmoor, which opened in 1863.
I became very invested in the short and poignant stories. Nicola Sly is clearly an expert on this topic and has many pictures of asylums and hospitals, long since closed, and some of the judiciary involved, which add to the content.
The social history is what interests me the most. It's amazing how many murders start with someone rushing to get help, and returning with a doctor and a policeman. How likely is that to happen nowadays?
The stories of women who killed their babies and children are poignant: nowadays many would have been diagnosed with post natal depression.
It's strange how many men, described as gentle and loving fathers, killed their children and couldn't explain why.
The causes of death for the Broadmoor inmates are often "softening of the brain" with a few cases of dropsy , tuberculosis, senility and plain old age.
Some of the inmates spent more than 50 years in Broadmoor. At the time it was built, the only "treatment" was work and fresh air. In that respect they probably fared better than those who were incarcerated later on who experienced drug experiments, ECT and lobotomies.

If you like books with history, despite being about crimes, you need to read this book. A well-written book and well-done research could only make a good historical book.

This is a fascinating collection of case studies which, I am sure, would otherwise be hidden away in files forever. The author offers the facts in a straightforward way, without judgement, and this makes for compelling and credible reading. It is good to see these cases memorialised and the history of the people and the institution protected.