The Mad Women's Ball (Victoria Mas)

• Author: Victoria Mas

Condition & Size

• Size: Large (Format C. Typically 13.8x21.6 or 14.0x22 cm)
• Book Type: Paperback
• CAI Condition Score: 7/10.
• CAI Condition Description: Very Good

About This Book

A literary historical novel detailing the horrors faced by institutionalized women in 19th century Pariswas a film with Amazon Studios The Salpetriere Asylum: Paris, 1885. Dr. Charcot holds all of Paris in thrall with his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad and cast out from society. But the truth is much more complicatedthese women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives, those who have lost something precious, wayward daughters, or girls born from adulterous relationships. For Parisian society, the highlight of the year is the Lenten ballthe Madwomen's Ballwhen the great and good come to gawk at the patients of the Salpetriere dressed up in their finery for one night only. For the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope. Genevieve is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister Blandine, she shunned religion and placed her faith in both the celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Charcot and science. But everything begins to change when she meets Eugeniethe 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family that has locked her away in the asylum. Because Eugenie has a secret: she sees spirits. Inspired by the scandalous, banned work that all of Paris is talking about, The Book of Spirits, Eugenie is determined to escape from the asylumand the bonds of her genderand seek out those who will believe in her. And for that she will need Genevieve's help . . .