Goldcord Asylum
Registered by J4Shaw of finding my place, Somewhere -- Controlled Releases on 5/10/2014
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
6 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by J4Shaw from finding my place, Somewhere -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, May 10, 2014
From the back of the book:
Preston, 1866:
Time is running out for Goldcord Asylum. Once a progressive establishment dedicated to curing the mental problems of the inmates, now the asylum is under increasing pressure to treat and release patients whether they are ready or not. Professional pride, personal ideals, financial pressures and dark secrets compete to determine whether Goldcord will survive.
In the midst of this maelstrom of conflicting interests, Ivy Squire is committed. A strange young woman, so self-destructive that she must be kept in isolation, Ivy begins to reveal her story to new nurse Tilly Swann. But can Tilly find the key to Ivy’s madness before she is dragged into danger by Superintendent Enoch Gale’s increasing recklessness?
Read May 2015 - My Review
This book came to my attention around 2 years ago when I stumbled across some photos of an old asylum in the grounds of where my Father used to play cricket. As you do when browsing the web, searches lead you to all sorts of interesting places, and these photos led me to learn of this book.
You can read about Whittingham Hospital (a psychiatric hospital in the parish of Whittingham, near Preston, Lancashire, England) HERE and the photos that lead me to this book can be seen HERE
Now this book is not my usual read. I’m more of a contemporary fiction kinda gal, but the story stole my heart and had me gripped from the very beginning.
I am a huge fan of authors who use just enough characters, and use them well, and this author certainly did that.
This book will no doubt stay with me for some time, and I appreciate being able to visualise Preston (my hometown) in the story.
Preston, 1866:
Time is running out for Goldcord Asylum. Once a progressive establishment dedicated to curing the mental problems of the inmates, now the asylum is under increasing pressure to treat and release patients whether they are ready or not. Professional pride, personal ideals, financial pressures and dark secrets compete to determine whether Goldcord will survive.
In the midst of this maelstrom of conflicting interests, Ivy Squire is committed. A strange young woman, so self-destructive that she must be kept in isolation, Ivy begins to reveal her story to new nurse Tilly Swann. But can Tilly find the key to Ivy’s madness before she is dragged into danger by Superintendent Enoch Gale’s increasing recklessness?
Read May 2015 - My Review
This book came to my attention around 2 years ago when I stumbled across some photos of an old asylum in the grounds of where my Father used to play cricket. As you do when browsing the web, searches lead you to all sorts of interesting places, and these photos led me to learn of this book.
You can read about Whittingham Hospital (a psychiatric hospital in the parish of Whittingham, near Preston, Lancashire, England) HERE and the photos that lead me to this book can be seen HERE
Now this book is not my usual read. I’m more of a contemporary fiction kinda gal, but the story stole my heart and had me gripped from the very beginning.
I am a huge fan of authors who use just enough characters, and use them well, and this author certainly did that.
This book will no doubt stay with me for some time, and I appreciate being able to visualise Preston (my hometown) in the story.
Journal Entry 2 by J4Shaw at Tarawa Island, -- Not a city, Geographical features, etc. -- Kiribati on Sunday, June 7, 2015
Released 8 yrs ago (6/8/2015 UTC) at Tarawa Island, -- Not a city, Geographical features, etc. -- Kiribati
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This book will always hold a special place in my heart, but it has sprouted wings and it is off to the U.S.A as LadyVeg has picked it in Round 2 - VBB of Debut Novels
(I always add physical postage stamps to my packages. If you are not a collector yourself, check out the I collect postage stamps because... thread to find them a happy home.)
(I always add physical postage stamps to my packages. If you are not a collector yourself, check out the I collect postage stamps because... thread to find them a happy home.)
I forgot to mention that I received this book! Thank you! I'm actually halfway through it already.
I have finished the book now. It was interesting, and I liked it. Now it will be a seed book for the General Literature/Fiction VBB.
I have finished the book now. It was interesting, and I liked it. Now it will be a seed book for the General Literature/Fiction VBB.
Sent out as part of the Virtual Book Box. Enjoy! Be sure to look for the bookmark inside.
I read this book fairly quickly. I found it interesting and enjoyed the ending.
I read this book fairly quickly. I found it interesting and enjoyed the ending.
The book arrived today. Thank you for sharing it with me.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful book with me.
Set in northwest England in the year 1866, this novel is about a woman put into a mental institution by her husband (that she did not want to marry) Ivy Squire was married to Benjamin Squire as a social and economic move; Squire's mother, who made the match, only wanted someone decorative and fertile. Ivy, an avid reader and devoted to her invalid sister, had no interest in leaving home. But her odd ways had always been an embarrassment to her family.Sadly, her odd ways make her less than satisfactory to her new spouse and mother-in-law, and Ivy is revolted by her husband and his demands. When she finds secret ways to maintain some autonomy, her happiness proves short lived.
Ivy's odd ways are simply Asperger's syndrome, unheard of in the Victorian age.
Problems at the institute make the patients' situations worse. Enoch Gale, founder of Goldcord and Medical Superintendent, has secrets that would ruin him were they known. To add to Gale's problems, the Commission in Lunacy, which oversees mental hospitals, is starting to frown on the fact that very few patients are released as cured. Dr. Ballard, new to Goldcord, and the new nurse, Tilly Swann, show promise of making humane changes.
Ivy comes through as a determined person who may not always make choices that everyone would but has to be admired for her strength, loving nature, and intellect. The characters all come to life on the page, but I felt I knew Ivy as a living, breathing person. A lot of research went into this book and the historical aspects are spot on. I highly recommend this book.
This book is will Keep Moving to Perryfran to enjoy.
Set in northwest England in the year 1866, this novel is about a woman put into a mental institution by her husband (that she did not want to marry) Ivy Squire was married to Benjamin Squire as a social and economic move; Squire's mother, who made the match, only wanted someone decorative and fertile. Ivy, an avid reader and devoted to her invalid sister, had no interest in leaving home. But her odd ways had always been an embarrassment to her family.Sadly, her odd ways make her less than satisfactory to her new spouse and mother-in-law, and Ivy is revolted by her husband and his demands. When she finds secret ways to maintain some autonomy, her happiness proves short lived.
Ivy's odd ways are simply Asperger's syndrome, unheard of in the Victorian age.
Problems at the institute make the patients' situations worse. Enoch Gale, founder of Goldcord and Medical Superintendent, has secrets that would ruin him were they known. To add to Gale's problems, the Commission in Lunacy, which oversees mental hospitals, is starting to frown on the fact that very few patients are released as cured. Dr. Ballard, new to Goldcord, and the new nurse, Tilly Swann, show promise of making humane changes.
Ivy comes through as a determined person who may not always make choices that everyone would but has to be admired for her strength, loving nature, and intellect. The characters all come to life on the page, but I felt I knew Ivy as a living, breathing person. A lot of research went into this book and the historical aspects are spot on. I highly recommend this book.
This book is will Keep Moving to Perryfran to enjoy.
Enjoy! For E-Less Release Challenge 2015 -- off to perryfran to enjoy.
Thanks for sending me this one...looks very interesting and hope to get to it soon!
This was an engrossing and disturbing account of a woman who ends up in a mental asylum in the 19th century. The woman, Ivy Squire, is put in the asylum by her husband who Ivy was forced to marry by her parents. Ivy suffers from Asperger's Syndrome which was an undiagnosed condition in the 19th century. She merely seemed a little odd because she avoided eye contact, wanted to learn geology (which was considered solely a man's pursuit), avoided perfumes, and other traits considered to be unfeminine. The focus of the book is on Ivy who tells her history to a young nurse, Tilly, but the novel also details the conditions of mental health at the time and the gross misconceptions especially of female patients. For example, women were diagnosed with mental conditions based on such things such as "excessive reading, studies not suited to the female sex, a fancy to forego marriage and children in favor of pursuing work." The novel really fleshes out the characters including Ivy and her family, Tilly, Dr. Ambrose (a young doctor newly appointed to Goldcord), and Enoch Gale, the hospital administer who is a syphilitic using all the wrong methods on his patients. Overall, a high recommendation for this although I thought parts of Ivy's narrative could have come from a romance novel. The author, who has Asperger's, also includes some bonus material at the end about Asperger's, Victorian era asylums and mental patients, and some trivia related to the story. This add-on material is a great way to enhance the novel.
Journal Entry 10 by perryfran at bookstogive's general lit VBB, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, January 16, 2016
Received, thank you very much!
Excellent historical fiction although very difficult to read due to dread and horror. I had to stop a few times when I realized something terrible was going to happen. The things that happen in the story all serve purpose to tell the story in historical, social and mental health construct. The notes at the end, which tells why the author wrote the book as she did and gives additional historical context, is very good. The story is not spare but it is very carefully and thoughtfully constructed.
Recommended if you have an interest in mental health and the history of mental health treatments.
Recommended if you have an interest in mental health and the history of mental health treatments.
Looks like I will be putting this book in the 1st sentence wrap it up book box.
mailed
Received in the First Sentence Wrap-It-Up Bookbox ROUND 2
I have decided to pass this book along elsewhere
I have decided to pass this book along elsewhere
Journal Entry 16 by Chicvolley99 at Little Free Library #11521 - 455 Washington St. in Denver, Colorado USA on Sunday, November 22, 2020
Released 3 yrs ago (11/22/2020 UTC) at Little Free Library #11521 - 455 Washington St. in Denver, Colorado USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Released at the Little Free Library on Washington in between 4th and 5th Aves. Please enjoy!