
The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for £14.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Emilie Autumn
-
By:
-
Emilie Autumn
About this listen
Two young women, living centuries apart, both accused of madness, communicate across time to fight a common enemy...their doctors.
"It was the dog who found me."
Such is the stark confession launching the harrowing scene that begins The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls as Emilie Autumn, a young musician on the verge of a bright career, attempts suicide by overdosing on the antipsychotics prescribed to treat her bipolar disorder. Upon being discovered, Emilie is revived and immediately incarcerated in a maximum-security psych ward, despite her protestations that she is not crazy, and can provide valid reasons for her actions if someone would only listen.
Treated as a criminal, heavily medicated, and stripped of all freedoms, Emilie is denied communication with the outside world and falls prey to the unwelcome attentions of Dr. Sharp, head of the hospital's psychiatry department. As Dr. Sharp grows more predatory by the day, Emilie begins a secret diary to document her terrifying experience and to maintain her sanity in this environment that could surely drive anyone mad. But when Emilie opens her notebook to find a desperate letter from a young woman, imprisoned within an insane asylum in Victorian England and bearing her own name and description, a portal to another world is blasted wide open.
As these letters from the past continue to appear, Emilie escapes further into this mysterious alternate reality where sisterhoods are formed, romance between female inmates blossoms, striped wallpaper writhes with ghosts, and highly intellectual rats speak the Queen's English.
But is it real? Or is Emilie truly as mad as she is constantly told she is?
The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls blurs harsh reality and magical historical fantasy whilst issuing a scathing critique of society's treatment of women and the mental health care industry's treatment of its patients.
Welcome to the Asylum. Are you committed?
©2007 The Asylum Emporium (P)2016 The Asylum EmporiumPerfect depression
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
love it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
AMAZING!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In terms of the novel itself, This experimental book has great moments as well as many flaws, blending the realities of the singer’s real life with a fictionalised version of her time in an institution as well as a less than historically accurate imagining of victorian life with magical elements. The blending of fantasy with reality is very effective in leaving readers to contemplate what is ‘real’ within the tale and what is imagined. The novel is a scathing criticism of the mental health system and gives an eye opening insight into some of its failings, though readers must be aware that it is at times very insensitive to the plight of other people with mental illness, and could definitely be triggering to those who have suffered with eating disorders, suicidal thoughts or self harm. Heavy feminist themes will speak to many readers, though readers should be aware that this story is very, very dark, with the female inmates of the Victorian asylum suffering every injustice imaginable at the hands of their tormentors. The sisterly bonds developed by these characters are the real heart of the piece. Most of the characters feel a little flat, or like we leave the tale with their stories not quite finished (particularly for the novel’s collection of villains). I enjoyed this unique novel and would recommend it as a fantasy to those who are interested in Victoriana; providing they can stomach the miseries within.
A Mixed Bag
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Stuck with it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Strange narration but got used to it!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The characters and the storyline
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Terrible narrator.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
-
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
eccellent take on the misused power of psychiatry
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.