The Asylum For Wayward Victorian Girls By Emilie Autumn

To classify such a book as The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls is difficult. It is part autobiography, part historical fiction. The book is about both the author’s stay in a psyche ward, and also a woman of the Victorian Era’s stay in an asylum. These accounts compare and contrast mental institutions from yesterday and today. With beautiful writing, shocking accounts and eye-opening historical information, this book is a must-read.

The Asylum is a very intense book that should not be waved off as “light reading”. The book deals heavily with issues of manic depression, suicide and the misogynist 1800’s medical experimentation. It opens up with Autumn’s admission to the emergency room after a failed suicide attempt. From there, the author describes her stay in the ER, to the psyche ward through her journals written while staying there. Throughout the book are letters written in which Autumn claims to have received through her journal. These letters are from Emily (with a ‘y’) who lived in a Victorian asylum. The book details all the horrible treatments of patients (or rather inmates) of the Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls went through. The book, after a long and difficult journey, ends in a major cliffhanger leaving the reader wondering.

Autumn does not fail to present a very well written account of what happens in psyche wards of both today and yesterday. Her writing spares absolutely no detail in her life-long battle with bipolar disorder. Her writing is sincere, yet sarcastic and pulls the emotional strings of the reader as they go into the world of The Asylum. Emily (with a ‘y’) tells of tortures she and other inmates went through including daily bloodletting, the clitoridectomy, uterus removal and forced abortions, all done in the most unsanitary ways. These tales will leave the reader feeling sick, yet still glued to the page. This book also reveals conditions in a modern-day psyche ward, which can be deemed inadequate at best.

All in all, this book is a shocking eye-opener for anyone willing to learn. It is nothing short of educational in both history and modern society. Some of the lower points in the book are the fact that it is not easy to get your hands on. Emilie Autumn is already a rather underground recording artist, and the book is only available on order through her record label so far, and at a rather hefty price. However, it is well worth it. It is a large and heavy hardcover with over two hundred full-colour pages including hand-written notes and journal entries.

Personally, I would recommend this book to all fans of Autumn’s music, and anyone interested in history and psychology.

EmilieAutumn.com