I had really wanted to read this book but after several attempts i have just given up.
Sorry for the bad review.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

An intriguing and interesting look at the lives of the women who spent their time at Broadmore. Made me angry hearing the reasons why they found themselves in the grounds of this notorious asylum.

Fantadtic and informative! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will look at introducing it into my shop.

Rounded up from around 3.5 stars ⭐️

Broadmoor was the first asylum built in the UK to house the criminally insane. This book covers some of the rich and true history of Broadmoor and some of the women who were confined there in the 1800’s.

Broadmoor holds a particular fascination for me as an aspiring Forensic Psychologist, so when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. I found myself absolutely devouring the first chapter that focused more on the history of the institution and the views of mental health in Victorian England. I didn’t learn anything I haven’t already learnt through my studies, but I thoroughly enjoyed how this was written and how such sensitive topics were handled. In fact, the sensitivity of the author is shown throughout the book.

I loved learning more about the history of Broadmoor and the great kindness shown to the patients housed there. I had expected the gruesome horrors often linked to asylums but instead came away with a reflective sensation and lightness that I had not anticipated. My main critique for the book, and the only reason that I could not give it 5 stars, is that I felt the author focused too much on the extended family. I would end up losing focus and getting lost in a jumble of names that made no sense to me. As much as I praise the amount of research that went into this, it made it difficult to digest as a reader. I would have rather had less specific detail and more information about other women involved in Broadmoor. Overall, I’m very glad I read this book!

I would recommend this to fans of true-crime, historical non-fiction, or those interested in the history of mental health, as long as you don’t mind some excessive detail. I want to thank NetGalley, Pen & Sword and Kim E. Thomas for sending me a copy of this book so I could give my personal thoughts.

This was so well researched and so fascinating to read, I am so glad that I requested it and got approved!

A heartbreaking break down of the history of the Broadmoor women, what they went through, what lead them there, and how they were treated once they were committed.

Kim Thomas has taken an in depth investigation at women who committed crimes in Victorian Britain, but were found not guilty by reason on insanity and sent to Broadmoor instead. She has highlighted several causes and cases that were frequently found through documenting the lives of seven women who spent time at Broadmoor. She ensures we know more about the women pre crime, giving some explanations for their situation, crime and ultimate outcome. I myself have studied Broadmoor in depth, and have ploughed through the Broadmoor archives writing papers. The book does read like a dissertation and is very academic in its style. The book is therefore for a keen historian, rather than a social reader I would say, but it is well researched and full of interesting insights through the approach of focusing on these spotlighted women.

At face value, this is a focussed examination of seven women who were admitted to Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital during the nineteenth century. However, the author is an impressive historian, and utilises her study to amalgamate a richer view of Victorian family life within a time changing as much technologically as medically. As a non-Brit, I’ve never had a particular interest in the Victorian era, but Kim E. Thomas gave it the substance necessary to keep my attention.

I am very impressed by the author’s insight, which is evident when she discusses the trouble with trying “to map nineteenth-century categories of postpartum illness onto modern categories.”

I also enjoyed the bit of “meta” she delves into, regarding how her study illustrates the challenges of researching this era.

Some chapters are certainly better put together than others, and could use some text revision to avoid drowning the subjects in their own genealogy. Not that their heritage is not important, but the family trees often completely muddled my understanding of the actual patient’s journey.

A concise work of non-fiction, that will appeal to readers with an interest in the history of mental illness.

I could not get into this book. I did try a few times, but it just didn't grip me. I am really sorry, but it just wasn't for me.

This book was a fascinating glimpse into life as a Victorian woman who did not fit the traditional mould for whatever reason as well as an interesting and insightful look into one of Britain's most enduring secure mental health facilities.

There have been many famous criminals who have been sent to Broadmoor, but this book focuses on a small subset of people that we don't know much about - lower class women. As the author says, these women did not have the education or the time to leave written records behind, and therefore all we know of them is what can be gleaned from public records.

Thomas has chosen the stories of seven different women to highlight, akin to The Five by Hallie Rubenhold, and it is a structure that works beautifully for this book. It was fascinating to read about the lives of these women and how they became incarcerated in Broadmoor, keeping in mind this was a time when things like having (and sharing) opinions or reading books was enough to get you taken away. Some of the stories were heartbreaking, and it was interesting to see how people were treated at Broadmoor and other facilities, given that there were no medications and psychology wasn't really a thing at that point.

A wonderfully written and interesting book which should appeal to anybody who likes psychology, women's history, or true crime.

Interesting and well written. I have read about Broadmore before, but not in this kind of detail. Would recommend this book to others.

Oh my! I enjoyed reading through this book. There is a fascinating history here, full of why people were committed in the first place (some of them are shocking), but also recounting the story of seven women who were held there, after committing murder.

While not always the most comfortable read, it was enjoyable over all, with great information and facts throughout. Highly recommend.

Broadmoor Women is an interesting, if academic, peak into the lives of seven women who murdered and were remanded to Broadmoor, one of the first mental hospitals for convicted criminals in England. The writing was a bit dry and very heavily researched, giving insight into the commonalities and differences of the seven women Thomas choose to study for this peak into how female murderers were treated in Victorian England. She picked women from a variety of backgrounds and socio-economic statuses, but outside of these differences, there were many similarities amongst the women profiled. This gives an in-depth look into what life must have been like for women during the Victorian period, particularly those with mental health issues and mothers of many children. With the interest in avoiding spoilers, I won't share details, but I found the post-Broadmoor portion of the stories of these women most interesting - their paths following their stays at Broadmoor where surprising to me.

This was a great book to learn another side of an institution we have all heard so much about. I also loved the fact we got a detailed insight to the women who stayed there and their reasonings for doing what they did, justified or not.

This was a story about a criminal mental institution in the Victorian era and how women were so poorly treated. Seeing what these women went through in their daily lives gives you a peek into why they might have actually gone insane and ended up in Broadmoor. Very interesting read!

Kim Thomas' book focussing on the treatment of women with mental illnesses to the point where they kill is a fascinating read. The views of how these women were treated through the ages were poignant and sad. So much was misunderstood about post natal depression, thank goodness we have come farther in this understanding. Thomas chooses 7 case studies involving women who have killed, and she writes with empathy and great clarity. I very much enjoyed this book, the writing style and tone are exactly right for her subject. Many thanks to Netgalley, Pen &Sword and the Author for an ARC of this thought provoking book.

I love this genre and this was a fabulous book which I could not put down, something I have never read before,

Thank you to Netgalley and Pen&Sword for the arc of Broadmoor Women by Kim Thomas.

5 stars ⭐️- This follows a detailed and interesting true account from the first criminal asylum which opened in 1863 this goes through stories of 7 of them women who was In Broadmoor, when it first opened only 1 in 5 women got admitted to Broadmoor so this goes through 7 of the woman’s stories in detail

A throrough interesting book

Recommend to all

I thought this book was just okay. I though the storytelling was a bit bland at times. Just an okay book.

Princess Fuzzypants here: This is a fascinating book. The stories of the women who lives are chronicled are testimony to the attitudes towards females in general, particularly within the framework of marriage, child bearing and child raising. For the most part they were simply considered receptacles for their husbands and even when stressed beyond what they could handle, were still expected to perform their duties. Most of the women came across sympathetically. Even the ones who killed their own children were not evil. I think the most telling condemnations were the husbands who wanted the women released because they needed them back doing what put them in the asylum in the first place.

None of this came as a particular shock but what did surprise me was the care and kindness these women found at Broadmoor., at least during the years described. I guess too many old movies made me expect a cruel and barren environment and nothing could be further from the truth. The fact that with the care they received many of them were released and went on to live long lives. It was a revelation.

The stories are all interesting and well researched. Four purrs and two paws up.