A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine by Jay, Mike
A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine by Jay, Mike

A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine

Confined in Bedlam in 1797 as an incurable lunatic, James Tilly Matthews is one of the most...
HK$199.77
HK$199.77
SKU: 9781583947173
Product Type: Books
Please hurry! Only 0 left in stock
Author: Mike Jay
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Subtotal: $199.77
10 customers are viewing this product
A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine by Jay, Mike

A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine

$199.77
A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine by Jay, Mike

A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine

$199.77
Author: Mike Jay
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Description
Confined in Bedlam in 1797 as an incurable lunatic, James Tilly Matthews is one of the most bizarre case studies in the annals of psychiatry. Often cited as the first thorough case study of what we would today call paranoid schizophrenia, Matthews drew intricate diagrams of the "influencing machine" that he believed to be reading and controlling his mind. But his case was even stranger than his doctors realized: many of the incredible conspiracies in which he claimed to be involved were entirely real.

A Visionary Madness traces the story of antiwar advocate James Tilly Matthews through the political and social upheaval of the late eighteenth century, providing a vivid account of the unraveling of Matthews's mind, a snapshot of late eighteenth-century psychiatry, and its relevance to current narratives of madness, conspiracy theories, mind control, and political manipulation. Digging deep into historical records and primary sources, author Mike Jay carefully untangles truth from delusion, providing evidence that Matthews was a political prisoner as much as a madman: he had been working as a double agent in the French Revolution and was privy to political secrets the British government feared he might expose. In the process, Jay illuminates the murky revolutionary politics of the 1790s and situates Matthews' visionary madness within the wider cultural upheavals of a world on the brink of modernity. The details of Matthews' treatment in Bedlam reveals the birth-pangs of early psychiatry and its struggle to free its patients from the harsh regimes of the eighteenth-century madhouse. A fascinating and fast-paced narrative history, A Visionary Madness raises profound questions about the nature of madness and the birth of the modern world.

Author: Mike Jay
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Published: 01/07/2014
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781583947173

About the Author
MIKE JAY is an author, historian, and curator who has written widely on the cultural history of science and medicine. His writing has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Guardian, BBC History Magazine, the Lancet, and Notes and Records of the Royal Society. His most recent book, High Society: Mind-Altering Drugs in History and Culture, accompanied a major exhibition that he curated at Wellcome Collection in London in 2010-11.


This title is only available via back order
Shipping & Return

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Review

Related Products

Example product title
HK$199.77
HK$199.77
Example product title
HK$199.77
HK$199.77
Example product title
HK$199.77
HK$199.77
Example product title
HK$199.77
HK$199.77
Example product title
HK$199.77
HK$199.77
Example product title
HK$199.77
HK$199.77
Example product title
HK$199.77
HK$199.77
Example product title
HK$199.77
HK$199.77
Example product title
HK$199.77
HK$199.77
Example product title
HK$199.77
HK$199.77

Recently Viewed Products