Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Two women fall under the influence of a powerful doctor in Paris's notorious women's asylum in this gripping historical novel inspired by true events, from the bestselling author of Wunderland. When Josephine arrives at the Salp tri re asylum, she is covered in blood, badly bruised, and suffering from amnesia. She is quickly diagnosed with what the Paris papers are calling "the epidemic of the age" hysteria, a disease is so baffling and widespread that Doctor Jean-Martin Charcot, the asylum's famous director, devotes many of his popular public lectures to the malady. Charcot often uses hypnosis to prompt his patients to reproduce their hysterical symptoms, and to his delight, Josephine proves extraordinarily susceptible to this unconscious manipulation. He is soon featuring the young woman on his stage, entrancing her into fantastical acts and hallucinatory fits before enraptured audiences and eager newsmen--many of whom feature her on their papers' front pages.
Laure, a ward attendant assigned to care for Charcot's new favorite, knows that Josephine's diagnosis is a godsend. Life in the Salp tri re's Hysteria ward is far easier than in its dreaded Lunacy division, from which few inmates ever return. But as Josephine's fame grows, her memory starts to return--and with it, images of a terrible crime she's convinced she's committed. Haunted by these visions, and ensnared in Charcot's hypnotic web, she starts spiraling into seeming insanity. Desperate to save the girl she has grown to love, Laure begins to plot their escape from the Salp tri re and its doctors. First, though, she must confirm whether Josephine is truly a madwoman, doomed to die in the asylum--or a murderer, destined for the guillotine.
Both are dark possibilities--but not nearly as dark as what Laure unearths when she sets out to discover the truth.
Synopsis
EDGAR AWARD FINALIST - "Epstein's page-turning historical novel--an indictment of the medical establishment's manipulation of women--remains eerily relevant and timely."--Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Spectacular Two women fall under the influence of a powerful doctor in Paris's notorious nineteenth-century women's asylum--a gripping novel inspired by true events, from the bestselling author of Wunderland. After being dragged into the Salp tri re asylum screaming, covered in blood, and suffering from amnesia, Josephine is diagnosed with what the nineteenth-century Parisian press has dubbed "the epidemic of the age" hysteria. It's a disease so uniquely baffling that Jean-Martin Charcot, the Salp tri re's acclaimed director, devotes popular lectures to it, using hypnosis to elicit fits and fantastical symptoms in front of rapt audiences. Young, charismatic, and highly susceptible to this entrancement, Josephine quickly becomes a favorite of the powerful doctor and the Parisian public alike.
But her true ally at the Salp tri re is Laure, a lonely ward attendant. As their friendship blossoms into something more, the two women find comfort and even joy together despite their bleak surroundings. Soon, Josephine's memory returns, and with it images of a gruesome crime she's convinced she's committed. Ensnared in Charcot's hypnotic web, she starts spiraling into seeming insanity, prompting a terrified Laure to plot their escape together. First, though, Laure must solve a grim mystery: Who, really, is the girl she's grown to love? Is Josephine a madwoman . . . or a murderer?
Inspired by true events, expertly researched, and masterfully written, The Madwomen of Paris is a Gothic saga for the ages with themes that remain hauntingly resonant today.