The Poor Law of Lunacy: The Administration of Pauper Lunatics in Mid-nineteenth Century England

Examines the legal and administrative regime of the 19th-century asylum, and argues that it is to be thought of as an aspect of English poor law, in which the medical superintendent of the asylum has little power. The text also examines the place of the county asylum movement in the poor law debates of the mid-19th century. Using the Leicestershire asylum as a case study, the author looks at the role of the poor law officers in the admission processes of the asylum, and relations between poor law staff, asylum staff and the poor law and lunacy central inspectorates. Contents List of figures List of tables Acknowledgements Note on citations and terminology Table of cases and statutes Introduction 1 Socio-legal history and asylums 2 Poor Law and asylum law as a single strand 3 The legislation of pauper lunacy 4 The pragmatics of coexistence: local officials and pauper lunacy 5 Local administration: the creation of coherence among misfits 6 The Lunacy Commissioners and the soft centre of reform 7 Conclusion: asylums, Poor Law and modernity Appendices 1 Quantitative indicators 2 Leicestershire records: statistical overview 3 Dietaries, Leicester Asylum and Leicester Workhouse 4 Forms of admission documents and casebooks Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T U W Most historians portray 19th-century county asylums as the exclusive realm of the asylum doctor, but Bartlett (law, U. of Nottingham) argues that they should be thought of as an aspect of English poor law, in which the medical superintendent had remarkably little power. He examines the place of the county asylum movement in the midcentury poor law debates and its legal and administrative regimes. Taking the Leicestershire asylum as a case study, he explores the role of poor law officers in admission processes, and relations between them and the staff and inspectors. Distributed by Continuum. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) In The Poor Law of Lunacy, Peter Bartlett examines the legal and administrative regime of the 19th-century asylum, arguing that it is to be thought of as an aspect of English poor law in which the medical superintendent of the asylum has little power. The text also examines the place of the county asylum movement in the poor law debates of the mid-19th century. Using the Leicestershire asylum as a case study, the author looks at the role of the poor law officers in the admission processes of the asylum, and relations between poor law staff, asylum staff and the poor law and lunacy central inspectorates. Examining The Legal And Administrative Regime Of The 19th Century Asylum, This Text Argues That It Is To Be Thought Of As An Aspect Of English Poor Law, In Which The Medical Superintendent Of The Asylum Had Little Power. Peter Bartlett. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 283-305) And Index.