Mad Mary Lamb
Subtitle: lunacy and murder in literary London
By: Susan Tyler Hitchcock.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Published: 2005
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 333
Subjects: Lamb, Mary, 1764-1847; Lamb, Charles, 1775-1834 -- Family; Literature and mental illness -- England -- History -- 19th century; Psychiatric hospital patients -- Great Britain -- Biography; Women and literature -- England -- History -- 19th century; Authorship -- Collaboration -- History -- 19th century; Mentally ill women -- Great Britain -- Biography; Authors, English -- 19th century -- Biography; Murderers -- Great Britain -- Biography; London (England) -- Intellectual life -- 19th century
Genres: Biography.
Description: Mary Lamb--a dutiful daughter, well liked by just about everyone--killed her own mother with a carving knife. She spent the rest of her life in and out of madhouses, yet the crime and its aftermath opened up a new life that no woman of her time or class could have expected. Freed to read extensively, she discovered her talent for writing and, with her brother, the essayist Charles Lamb, collaborated on the famous Tales from Shakespeare. Confidante to many of Britain's romantics, including Coleridge, Godwin and Wordsworth, Mary Lamb stood at the vibrant center of a colorful literary circle. This narrative of a nearly forgotten woman is a tapestry of insights into creativity and madness, the changing lives of women, and the redemptive power of the written word.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 303-312) and index.