The Poor Law of Lunacy: The Administration of Pauper Lunatics in Mid-Nineteenth-Century England

By Peter Bartlett

Examines the legal and administrative regime of the 19th-century asylum, and argues that it is to be thought of as an aspect of English poor law, in which the medical superintendent of the asylum has little power. The text also examines the place of the county asylum movement in the poor law debates of the mid-19th century. Using the Leicestershire asylum as a case study, the author looks at the role of the poor law officers in the admission processes of the asylum, and relations between poor law staff, asylum staff and the poor law and lunacy central inspectorates.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0718501047
• ISBN13: 9780718501044
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Leicester University Press
• Length: 332 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.3"