‘Women of broadmoor’, as the title suggests, covers the story of seven women, all of whom were institutionalised for a period in the infamous broadmoor prison - housing for those deemed ‘clinically insane’ by the justice system.

I thought this would be a fascinating book, and was thoroughly upset when I found it a chore to get through.

Whilst evidently well-researched and clearly explained, two vital aspects of a non-fiction book, it was lacking in most other areas. Each chapter is structured identically, and with the stories not differing much from one another I struggled to really gain much knowledge from the story as they all seemed to blend.

Thanks to netgalley for my advanced readers copy xo

This was such a good read. Broadmoor is prehaps one of the most famous institutions for the mentally ill, second probably only to Bedlam, in this country. It was such a compelling read, not only because I am fascinated by true crime, but also because ot gave a real human side to the women and their crimes.
It showed that these women were often living in very hard circumstances such as poverty, repeated childbearing - as we all know happened in Victorian times and before - and domestic violence/abuse. IT suprised me how emotive this book made me when reading about these women and their crimes and how being in an institution such as Broadmoor was actually a positive respite for these women, not just in terms of rehabilitation into society, which many of the women did, but also from the perils of their lives where they could just be themselves. Obviously this was not the case for eevryone but each individual story had its own heartbreaks involved.
An emotive and informative read that i couldn't put down.

True crime fascinates me and I was excited to read this. You can tell so much research and time went into making this book but it read more like a really long essay. It tended to drag on with some information that wasn't important to the overall stories such as husbands employers life stories. I didn't love it but didn't hate it, it was OK.

I wouldn't say that I enjoyed reading this one because it's not a topic that would strike joy to read. However it was informative. As someone who enjoys studying Criminal justice history I learned a lot Broadmoor Britain's first asylum for criminal lunatics and it doesn't surprise me that most of the inmates were female. Cause it seems at one point in English history simply being female was a crime. I want to learn more about the subject.

This author spent a lot of time researching for this book and in my opinion it paid off. The introduction was great as it gives much information on Broadmoor itself as well as the history of its occupants. The individual stories of the women were so detailed with information not only about their cases but their lives and those of their families afterwards. Some good illustrations too. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I found it to be a very interesting insight into how people were treated in the mid 180o's where mental health was concerned.

A fascinating account of women’s experience with the mental health system over time. This account of the different experiences of women from various social classes and circumstances highlights the vulnerability of women with mental health support needs. The commentary about the impact of contraception, or the lack thereof, is an interesting analytical point. A very well researched and well written account.

Thank you so much of the opportunity to have an ARC of this book!
Broadmoor Women is a book about facts of what it was like for women to live the asylum during the 1800.
Through reading this book I could tell the author had put a lot of time and effort into their research! There was plenty of facts within this book with research to back them up. Although I found this book to be interesting at times I found it a little much. The repeating the same facts continually throughout the book got old and I found myself wishing of it to be over.
I would like to also point out that this isn't a Genre I would normally read so it is outside of my comfort zone.
I didnt hate this book but I also didn't exactly enjoy it either.

Erm... Where do I start... I REALLY don't know what to say.

Although extensive research has been done to compile this book, and some of the facts figures and information is quite interesting, I found myself quite bored early on in this book.
I don't like writing negative reviews but I feel like a lot of this book was waffle to fill the pages, and repeating of information gor a bit annoying.

Sorry.... Only 3* at a push, But thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this.

I really enjoyed this book, so full of information about how the different institutions were built, run and the treatments they employed, very well researched. Then comes the individual stories of seven women who were in Broadmore. A great incite into Victorian attitudes and has the reader involved and feeling for them

Broadmoor was Great Britain’s first and most infamous asylum for the”criminally insane”. This book examines the lives of seven female patients who were sentenced to the asylum after being convicted of a terrible crime, viewed even more horrific in the eyes of the Victorian public because they were committed by women. Mental illness was barely understood, if at all, at the time, and treatments ranged from exercise and good food to the more sinister remedies of the day. All but one of the women profiled here “recovered” and were released, and for some, even Broadmoor was better than the world they left behind. During times of shocking poverty and abuse, women had little to no resources when they needed help. For some of those women, their rage, fear and desperation led them to commit terrible crimes, which then led them to incarceration at Broadmoor. This was a fascinating look into the past and the mentally ill were treated, focusing on a small group of women makes this history much more personal and relatable

Interesting account of a asylum or psychiatric facility. This book is an extremely informative historical narrative on mental health. Disturbing but very interesting it’s an incredible part of history that needs to be told. Highly recommend!