This is such a good book set in Paris in 1885
The book is translated and is quite short
It deals with mental health and grief
An interesting read

I loved this book!

Set in the Salpêtrière Asylum, in 1885, this short but perfectly formed novel chronicles the lives of the women imprisoned as 'mad', but who were more often than not just considered an inconvenience to their families in a time when to be different was to be a source of shame. For some a refuge, for others a prison the women are treated as experiments and a source of entertainment for those considered normal. As the annual ball approaches the lives of nurse, Genevieve and patient, Eugenie, come together as they both find they need the help of the other one.

A fantastic piece of historical fiction, this story is a perfect blend of gothic, historical and feminist!

Revered by Parisian society for his innovative ways of curing the insane, Dr Charlot presides over the Salpetriere Hospital. However the truth is that the majority of women held in there are not mad, they are abused, opinionated or simply inconvenient to their families. Genevieve is the matron, haunted by the death of her younger sister, she looks after the women in her care with empathy. Eugenie can see the dead and for that reason her father has imprisoned her in the Salpetriere but with Genevieve's help she can escape. The night of reckoning is the Lenten Ball, an event in which Parisian society comes the the Salpetriere to see and be seen.
This book has garnered lots of positive reviews and I can see why. Although there are lots of plot lines and larger themes, the narrative is quite tautly written and the book is short. The treatment of the insane women casts a light on both 19th century mental health and also on the fact that many women were declared insane and had no right of redress. Therefore the idea of the Lenten Ball is a great motif to draw the themes together and makes this book more than it appears on the surface.

This historical novel packs quite the punch, despite its shorter page count the author manages to evoke a rich world. The crushing pressure for women to conform is conveyed so well by Mas, from the slums to the upper echelons of society, no woman is spared. A darkly Gothic tale that weaves ghosts, grief and madness into a spiralling narrative, I was entranced.

This book was such a nice surprise! It definitely packs a punch in the few pages it has. It's an example of how a novel can be relatively short and the story can be told in those pages very well. Absolutely adored the writing, the characters, the plot. Can't fault it.

This book taught me about a horrific period of women's history in France, that I had never heard of-the Salpetriere Hospital in Paris, in the late 19th Century, was used to house women who were deemed mentally unfit of taking care of themselves. While some of the inmates were mentally ill, there were several others who were forced to live there- recalcitrant daughters sent in by cruel parents, prostitutes who tried to defend themselves, women whose fortunes their relatives wanted. The conditions of the Salpetriere were not terrible, for most of the women, with the head of the hospital, Dr. Charcot, not insisting on patients being chained to beds or mistreated. However, he believed in hypnosis, and held lectures every week for students, where women were exhibited, for all practical purposes, and given that they were not in a position to give consent, this practice is deeply distressing. Given that Charcot's students at the time include Gilles de la Tourette and others whose fame seems to have rested on the observations and experiments conducted on the women o f the Salpetriere, it's sad that many of the women's names are lost to history. VIctoria Mas writes very well, and the book is intensely atmospheric and immersive. This could have been a 5 star read, if the ghost story hadn't played such an important role in it. This was a period of increasing interest in Spiritualism, but this being shoehorned into a story with real world implications was jarring. I have deep issues with the ending as well, for two characters-the trope of women having to face sexual assault to "toughen them up' is tired, and in such a feminist book otherwise, completely unnecessary. Another character gets a practically fairytale ending, which is whiplash-inducing for a book that is otherwise very real.
Despite my issues with it, I would recommend reading this book. The author has some deeply profound and insightful things to say about women's illnesses and the cavalier manner in which they're treated, and the huge information asymmetry between doctors, and the rest of us. Things have improved, but the commodification of women's bodies still continues, even by healthcare providers.

Personally, I found this book to be a bit slow at times and it really took me a while to get through it. The characters were relatively likeable and well rounded and the story itself was extremely interesting. I tend to find myself staying away from books that discuss mental health, especially when they are set so early (18/19th Century) as well as set in an asylum, but I am glad that I had the chance to read this. I think this book was important in highlighting the way that women were treated during these times, and how easy it was for their families to get them locked away in places such as The Salpetriere asylum. The supernatural element of the book was by far its selling point for me and the reason that I can say that I enjoyed it.

Many thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review the translation of this book!

An important, short, well-written story set in 1880's Paris. This tory documents the heinous conditions that women with mental health problems had to endure in institutionalized care. Many of these women had great mental health yet refused to be pigeon-holed by the societal expectations of the age so were therefore thrown into an institution in order to keep them 'out of the way'. Highly recommended reading.

It is short and well-written story, discussing how terribly women were treated in the late 19th century but without being a polemic.

The narrative has a simple plot, not-overly dramatic, showing how women were punished for having opinions by being rejected by their families or even locked away, how women were totally under the control of the men in their lives, only enjoying the freedoms allowed them and not able to live life on their own terms.
And while other women can be a source of comfort and support, there are also many women willingly complicit in the oppression of their fellow females.

Although the main character is horrified at the thought of being trapped within the confines of the asylum, for many of the women, especially the poorer ones, the asylum offers them a kind of freedom. It is they only place where others have shown concern for their welfare and it is a haven of liberation from the subjugation to the whims and sexual violence of men which they suffered on the outside.
Even in the asylum the women are subject to the control and exploitation of the doctors (all male, of course) who treat the women as interesting cases rather than real human beings, disregarding their feelings and desires.

And the ball itself arouses conflicting emotions. Although it is appalling to imagine these poor women shown off as entertainment for the Paris elite the women themselves look forward to the ball, the atmosphere in the asylum becoming more calm during the time they spend preparing to enjoy a novel entertainment in fancy company within the ‘safety’ of the asylum walls.

I often don’t enjoy books that have won prizes but this is a gem

Highly recommended.

This was an interesting read. Set in the Salpetriere mental aslyum at a time when Charcot was doing his groundbreaking studies into women and madness it focuses less on his work and more on the lives of the women who have been incarcerated in the hospital. The heart of the book is the relationship between Genevieve, a nurse who has dedicated her whole life to the hospital and who worships Charcot, and Eugenie, a 19 year old well to do woman whose father has her locked away when he finds that she claims to be able to speak to the dead. The men in the book are uniformly awful, but ironically, it is their poor treatment of the women in their lives that give the women a connection and a bond which is their strength and which allows them a secret life of their own. It is a celebration of friendship set against a gothic background where reality and what is normal shifts and twists along with the plot.

My thanks to Random House U.K./Transworld Publishers for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Mad Women’s Ball’ by Victoria Mas in exchange for an honest review.

This was Mas’ debut novel and originally published as ‘Le Bal des folles’ in France in 2019; where it has won several literary prizes. It was translated from the French by Frank Wynne in June 2021.

This was a sumptuous work of historical fiction set in Paris, 1885. The entire city is fascinated by the
Salpêtrière asylum, where Doctor Charcot undertakes displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad or hysterical. While some are outcasts from society, others are simply inconvenient women: unwanted wives or strong willed daughters.

Once a year the hospital holds a magnificent ball, a grand event that is the highlight of the social season for the Parisian elite. Central to the story are two women whose fates collide on the night of the Mad Women's Ball.

Eugénie Cléry is the nineteen-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family. To her father her only value is as the future spouse of a suitable man. Yet Eugénie has no interest in marriage and freely speaks her mind on topics deemed unsuitable for women. When she confides her ability to communicate with the corporeally-challenged and her new found interest in Spiritualism to a family member it proves a step too far and she’s summarily packed off to the Salpêtrière.

Geneviève is a senior nurse at the asylum. Following the death of her sister in childhood, she has abandoned religion and instead has placed her faith in Doctor Charcot and his new science. Then Eugénie with her very different perspective on life and death comes into her care leading to Geneviève beginning to question herself.

Before reading this novel I did have some awareness of the history of mental health treatments and how women who had failed to conform to society’s norms were sometimes shut away in asylums.

I felt that Victoria Mas did well in depicting the story of these women and also highlighted how for some there was a sense of camaraderie within the hospital setting. I was pleased with the inclusion of Eugénie’s interest in Spiritualism that placed it in its historical context without the need to explain it away.

While there were a few notes on the historical personages in the novel following the main text, I would have appreciated more background from the author.

Overall, I found this a beautifully written novel that not only evoked Paris during the late nineteenth century but threw a light on these historical medical practices.

On a side note the kaleidoscopic cover art was very striking. I also will be looking forward to its film adaptation as well as future projects by Victoria Mas.

I love the kaleidoscope cover of this book and what strikes me about The Mad Woman's Ball, is that it's a true mix of thoughts and emotions all swirling together in an atmospheric French historical drama.

Setting The Mad Woman's Ball during the latter part of the eighteenth century and, particularly at the Salpêtrière Asylum in Paris introduces us to a different way of life and for those who both live, and work, at the lunatic asylum there are compelling stories to be heard.

When Geneviève, the senior nurse at the Salpêtrière, meets nineteen year old hospital inmate Eugénie Cléry their paths cross in ways they could never have imagined and it is this association together with the connection with the celebrated psychiatrist and neurologist, Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot which forms the focus of the novel.

Stories of women who were incarcerated in asylums during the fin de siecle highlights the dangerous way that women were all to often moved out of society, especially if their, sometimes, scandalous or unusual behaviour gave cause for concern in a world where to conform and be respectable was the only thing required of them. The latter part of the eighteenth century with its moral and ethical restrictions is vividly described, I enjoyed the gothic feel of the novel and the supernatural elements add an extra frisson of excitement.

I see that it is to be made into a film by Amazon Studios and I think that the cinematic elements of the story will translate really well to the screen. It will be interesting to see how it works out for this talented debut author.

*Trigger Warnings*
*Rape, Abuse, Incest*
Firstly, thank you to Netgalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.
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.

This book is a historical literary novel with paranormal elements, however, despite the paranormal being a central plot point it is definitely not the point of the book
The story follows both Eugénie, a woman confined to the Salpetriere for claiming she can see ghosts and Geneviève a nurse working in the Salpetriere with the utmost respect for its practices. The book also has a similar feeling to Rebecca and other gothic novels which I enjoyed

This is a fantastic book about the real reasons that women were confined to these Asylums in the 1800s. Despite this being a short book it is deeply impactful as well as beautifully written. All the "mad" characters that you encounter have some event where the men in their lives have led them to be sent to the Salpetriere and you feel for all of them. The men in this book are unfeeling, not particularly seeing the women around them as they are seen as mad.

I cant wait to read more of this Author's work

A prize winner and a bestseller? I kind of see why it is, but I really don’t feel it deserves either accolade. The writing, although not bad, is bland and simplistic, with far too much telling and not enough showing, and the stock characters and melodramatic situations and events diminishes what is admittedly an interesting concept. Set in Paris in 1885 we are taken into the infamous Salpetriere Asylum and the regime of Dr Charcot and his hypnosis therapy. The two main protagonists of the novel are Eugenie who is incarcerated by her conventional ogre of a father because she admits to seeing spirits (bad move) and the senior nurse Geneviève, who under her stern exterior harbours a heart of gold (of course). For any reader not already familiar with the Salpetriere and the treatment of so-called “mad” women in that era, the book is an interesting enough portrait of the place and time. But for those who already know something, there is nothing original or particularly insightful here. And choosing a protagonist who actually sees spirits, a questionable capability even in the most enlightened of societies, is in my opinion, well…questionable. So an entertaining enough short read, but an inconsequential one.

In Paris in 1885, The Salpêtrière asylum is either famous and infamous depending on who you are and your standing in society. If you're a man and considered rich and important, you can attend a lecture there every Friday and watch the renowned Dr.Charcot hypnotise a hysterical woman. You can even go to the Mad Women’s Ball - the highlight of the social calender where you can mix with the women of the asylum for your entertainment and theirs.

But if you are a woman, any kind of woman, the asylum is a very real danger. If you don't conform to society's expectations of you - if you grieve too hard for your husband, if you don't want a husband, if you fall in love with a man younger than you, if you are traumatised by the abuse you have suffered from a man, if you call your husband out for cheating on you, if you are in anyway inconvenient to the men in your life, you can find yourself spending the rest of your days in Salpêtrière.

The Mad Women’s ball captures the story of Geneviève, a nurse at the asylum who places her trust in the science of treating the mad women, and Eugénie a women with a secret who is sent to the asylum by her family. The time spent together alters the course of both women's lives on the night of the Mad Women’s Ball.

They say the best books make you feel and make you think. and wow has Victoria Mas achieved this ten times over with "The Mad Women’s Ball". I raged about the treatment of the women in this book and the misogyny in the male characters and the society at large.
Each woman in this book has been written beautifully and her character has been developed in a nuanced and multi faceted way. I emphasised with each of the women and became so fond of them. They will remind you of the women you know and love in your life. The writing is incredible, drawing you in, evoking strong emotion from the reader, whilst still in a style that is easy to read and engage with. The translation from the French the book is originally written in works very well.. It's a harrowing, heart wrenching read but beautiful too. I started this book with no expectations except intrigue from the blurb and it blew me away. A fantastic debut and it will stay with me for years to come.

If you love historical fiction, well rounded characters, tension and emotion, and strong women in your reading, you had better snap this book up right away. You can thank me later.

Thanks to Victoria Mas, Transworld publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

“The Salpêtrière is a dumping ground for women who disturb the peace. An asylum for those whose sensitivities do not tally with what is expected of them. A prison for women guilty of possessing an opinion”

Gothic supernatural and feminism mingle in this tale about women who are locked up in the renowned mental asylum in Paris, where the famous Dr Charcot, famous for his work on hysteria and hypnosis worked and conducted his experiments and demonstrations that were attended also by young Freud.

The Salpêtrière confines all sorts of women: women who just happen to have a mind of their own , abused women, epileptic women, prostitutes; women whose presence men have deemed unacceptable. What they have in common is that they are unloved women the outside world wants to forget. The outside world remembers them once a year, as the institution hosts an annual ball where patients mingle with the outside public, an event much anticipated and a means of experiencing something pleasurable once a year.
While there is a pretension to treat patients, it is a dehumanising environment where women’s bodies are objectified, exhibited, and subjected to male scrutiny and control, dangerous experiments and demeaning and cruel treatment, and even abused even more than they would be outside. There are also dedicated nurses like Geneviève, who believe in science and medicine, but her beliefs will be shaken when young Eugénie is locked up for talking to the dead. Geneviève will have to rethink all she knows and where the real freedom lies. One of the themes is male culture as something totally based on rationality and science totally oblivious to the sphere of intuition and spirituality.

There is an interesting, captivating storyline, but the writing falls flat at times. The supernatural elements capture the spirit of the times and the dissatisfaction with rationalism. However, by turning the novel into a ghost story where it is actually possible to talk to the dead detracts from the message rather than reinforce it. Patriarchy, bourgeois hypocrisy, respectability, materialism and a culture of male domination are certainly the issue here, but characters are way too flat and not believable, particularly fathers, who take less than a few seconds to take the decision to completely erase their daughters from their lives. These elements ended up somewhat trivializing the story for me.

My thanks to the publisher for an Arc in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

This is very thought provoking and challenges the themes of madness, feminism, and spiritualism.
A great read. My only criticism (which is more of a back handed compliment) is that by the time I got into it, it was over. Another 100 pages would have added to the drama and intensity of the book.
Still, one of the better books I have read in this setting and on this topic. Some really great descriptions,

Set in 1880s, The Mad Women's Ball tells the story of the women who were declared mad and committed to the Salpêtrière - mostly, these were perfectly healthy women who refused to play the roles society expected of them. The inevitable outcome of which was a one way ticket to the Asylum.

Ever since reading books like Florence & Giles, I've been somewhat obsessed by these types of storylines. And was so excited to see a book that would bring to light the dire decisions women of the time had to face.

Though this book quick and easy to read; it felt 'too' easy. Every plot device is explained, every decision, every connection is nicely wrapped in a bow and gifted to you. Put simply, I wanted more.

I wanted depth of character in the patients in the Asylum; some complexity of history or character that would make them feel more three-dimensional. I also wanted the focus to remain on the 'mental illnesses' these women faced; there was SO much that could have been developed, but instead we had to blindly accept a main character's ability to ​talk to the dead.

All in all, I enjoyed reading The Mad Women's Ball, and finished it in a day (which makes a really nice change from the book slump I've been in). But the complexity, depth and darkness I craved from a subject like this just wasn't there.

An insightful look into what the treatment of women resembled in Paris in the late 1800’s. Addressing little known facts such as the use of mental asylums to get rid of women who disagreed with husbands, were old news or were not demure enough. With multiple character perspectives flowing into each other we follow the lives of the madwomen of the Salpetrier Hospital during the weeks that lead up to the annual Madwomen’s ball. An event that allows the cream of society to mingle with the less desirables, and see what a madwoman looks like up close. A spectacle for them, a light in the dark for the women. The women are ecstatic about the upcoming party playing dress up, enjoying the attention and fine foods. But beneath all this excitement there runs a sinister undertone as the stories of these women come to light and what the gruesome, traumatic circumstances were that led them to becoming permanent residents of the ward. We follow Genevieve the matron of the ward as she slowly defrosts and starts to question the methods and decisions of her beloved doctor, Louis a pretty seventeen year old who made the ward her home and is now used to illustrate the powers of hypnosis and Eugenie the silenced, ignored daughter of a respected lawyer. A book that examines the meaning of madness and speaks to the steel that can be found at the core of women. It is dark and lavish with a style of writing that blurs the lines between sanity and insanity. A book that will leave you wondering as well as leave your heart aching for all the women that has been lost to asylums, just because they were women in a world ruled by men who decided they served no use. Lyrical and dark, with a hint of the super natural this is a read that is perfect for cold winter nights beside the fire.

This was a nice read. At around 250 pages, it’s an easy day’s read, and it’s also pretty light reading, but with a book that short it can’t get too deep.

I did find it a little bit slow for me, but I did very much enjoy reading it.

As ever, my thanks to Netgalley and the Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the advance copy