Mad or Bad: Crime and Insanity in Victorian Britain
By David J Vaughan
Pen & Sword, 187 pages, £12.99 In the past, those convicted of murder were likely to hang. During the 19th century, as the British criminal justice system evolved, the insanity plea was introduced, leading to some offenders receiving psychiatric treatment rather than facing execution.
Through case studies, David Vaughan charts the alienists’ efforts to bring a plea of insanity into the Victorian courts. This informative book features individuals on both sides of the law; those on trial for heinous crimes, the judges who decided their fate, and the psychologists who used their pioneering expertise to offer insights into why one person might have taken the life of another. Mad or Bad begins by establishing the context of the case histories, through biographies of the key authority figures, such as doctors, politicians and judges; definitions of the psychological conditions relating to criminal acts, with a section devoted to women; and a brief history of the insanity debate. While the explanations might have benefited from a more detailed overall narrative, the opening chapters provide a good, concise background to this complex subject. The fascinating topic of criminal insanity is explored through 25 case histories, featuring individuals from all walks of life, from the 12-year-old boy who poisoned his grandfather with arsenic-laced sugar, to the future King Edward VII’s wet nurse, who killed six infants. These violent tales reveal acts of parricide, infanticide, violent assault and cold-blooded murder. Each account gives the defendant’s history, a summary of the case, and its impact on the psychological debate. Mad or Bad is a well-researched and accessible book, which sheds light on insanity conditions through intriguing criminal cases and thoughtprovoking debate. It is a useful resource for those interested in the history of medico-legal debate, and for anyone whose ancestors suffered from mental health issues in the 19th century. Angela Buckley is the author of Amelia Dyer and the Baby Farm Murders (Manor Vale Associates, 2016)