The mad women's ball / Victoria Mas ; translated from the French by Frank Wynne.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mas, Victoria, author.

Contributor:

Wynne, Frank, translator.

Standardized Title:

Bal des folles. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Salpêtrière (Hospital).

Women--Institutional care--Fiction.

Women.

Psychiatric hospitals--France--Paris--Fiction.

Psychiatric hospitals.

Women--Institutional care.

Salpêtrière (Hospital)--Fiction.

Paris (France)--History--1789-1900--Fiction.

Paris (France).

France--Paris.

Genre:

Fiction.

Historical fiction.

History.

Novels.

Physical Description:

210 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : The Overlook Press, an imprint of Abrams, 2021.

Language Note:

Translated from the French.

Summary:

"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 complicated--these 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 ball--the Madwomen's Ball--when 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 Eugenie, the 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 asylum--and the bonds of her gender--and seek out those who will believe in her. And for that she will need Genevieve's help . . ."---Amazon.

Notes:

"Original French edition Bal des folles copyright 2019 by Editions Albin Michel, Paris."--Title page verso.

ISBN:

1419757598

9781419757594

OCLC:

1237252754

Publisher Number:

99988390844