'This book provides fascinating examples of the way in which oral history can be used to elicit some of the 'hidden histories' of an institution.....Mental health care now happens in different places and spaces, but this book provides a compelling record of a system which will continue to provoke debate far into the future.'John Adams, oral History, Autumn 1998, Memory, Trauma, Ethics'What could have been a collection of reminiscences has become an evocative and thought-provoking synthesis of the experiences of the Severalls communities in the twentieth century and an invitation to reflect on the future of mental health care in the twenty-first.' - Economic History Society, Nov 2000

• List of illustrations, List of tables, Acknowledgements, 1 Introduction: space, time and madness, 2 At the gate, 3 The corridor of power, 4 The great divide, 5 On the female side, 6 On the male side, 7 The space and pace of treatments, 8 Conclusion, Notes, Bibliography, Index

'This book provides fascinating examples of the way in which oral history can be used to elicit some of the 'hidden histories' of an institution.....Mental health care now happens in different places and spaces, but this book provides a compelling record of a system which will continue to provoke debate far into the future.'John Adams, oral History, Autumn 1998, Memory, Trauma, Ethics'What could have been a collection of reminiscences has become an evocative and thought-provoking synthesis of the experiences of the Severalls communities in the twentieth century and an invitation to reflect on the future of mental health care in the twenty-first.' - Economic History Society, Nov 2000

• List of illustrations, List of tables, Acknowledgements, 1 Introduction: space, time and madness, 2 At the gate, 3 The corridor of power, 4 The great divide, 5 On the female side, 6 On the male side, 7 The space and pace of treatments, 8 Conclusion, Notes, Bibliography, Index