I was drawn to this book by the intriguing cover, which fits quite well with the story. I don’t often read historical fiction, and this book was definitely a departure from my usual genre. This is also the first book I’ve read by this author.

Set in 1886, the story follows Violet, a twenty-four year old woman who’s unmarried. This is an affront for her mother, determined to set her up with her childhood friend, Felix, who happens to be rich. Violet is a strong willed person, and just wants to pursue her art. She decides she doesn’t want to go through with her engagement to Felix. The next thing she knows she’s waking up in an asylum, under the care of the creepy Dr Rastrick. She’s forbidden from painting or drawing and tries to hatch an escape plan.

I thought the book started off quite well, I was curious to find out what would happen to Violet and I liked her spirit. Unfortunately, the book really started to drag for me and became such a slog. The other patients in the asylum came across as cliched and two dimensional and even Violet’s character became boring. Parts of the book were quite predictable and the ending felt a bit silly and rushed.

Overall, I was disappointed with this one and I’m not sure if I’d read more from this author.

God forbid a woman does anything...
I feel like the trope of strong willed Victorian woman being sent to an asylum has been done several times already. I wanted Noel O'Reilly to put a refreshing take on this.
It wouldn't be dramatic if people just had calm and rational discussions but it is quite uncomfortable to see the main character being manipulated and gaslighted by both men and women into: giving up art, marriage without love, and finally thinking she's insane. The doctor was very creepy and there was an atmospheric gothic feel. But I do think this book would have been better if it had more of a feminist spin rather than the unexpected climax.

I’ve read books about women being sent to asylums a few times but I particularly enjoyed this story! I think it was my favourite read of last year!

Who is mad?
Brighton 1886, Violet's family find themselves in financial difficulties, one way out is for Violet to marry her old friend Felix, who is new money. Violet and her Mother have always had a stormy relationship, her brothers have all been sent to school and college but she has made do with a governess. On e of the highlights of Violet's week is her art classes which she attends with her friend Lottie, run by Miss Fanshawe, One week an Artist Mr. Lilley visits the class to give his opinion and help with the students work, he is amazed by Violet's work as it is quite disturbing and individual.
Violet meets Felix at a party and realises he wants to marry her, she tells him that they would not be happy, but after talking to her Mother relents and writes to him.
Miss Fanshawe takes Violet to tea at Mr Lilley's flat, they are impressed with one another, another date is arranged, but Violet goes alone and due to bad weather stays the night with him. When she returns home her Mother is furious. A Summer ball is arranged, where Violet and Felix's engagement is to be announced, Violet panics and can not remember what happens. She finds herself locked in an Asylum, run by a friend of her Mother's Dr Rastrick, Violet has never liked him, he tells her that her hysteria is bought about by her female character, a hypnotist puts Violet under hypnosis and reveals the events which had her committed to the Asylum, he also suspects Dr.Rastricks treatment of her.
Violet realises that Dr.Raistrick means to keep her in the Asylum, he is obsessed with her. Violet comes up with a plan to get free , she writes to Mr. Lilley and asks him to visit, will she get free?
A fast paced story, dealing with the horrors of Asylum life and comital of many unfortunate women.
Thank you Noel, NetGalley and Harper Collins for this ARC

I was torn on how to rate this book.

On the one hand, I thought the story was clever and accurate in highlighting the misogyny of the Victorian era - girls having no expectations or rights to education, their role purely to get married, have children and look after the home. I liked that Violet refused to conform, even though it would have been the easier option (although I would have liked to have understood her rationale for this).

On the other, (trying not to give spoilers), I was disappointed to find that Violet was less a victim of an injustice than I thought she was going to be. I really felt that her rebellion could have been explored more, maybe as the main plot of the story. I also found it difficult to understand how Felix, the betrothed her parents wanted for her, was offering her everything she wanted - the freedom to do as she pleased and not to confirm to expected norms - yet she turned down this escape, despite knowing she would never get to live as an independent artist (I could understand her mother’s frustrations at Violet’s selfishness)! The inmates within the asylum felt a bit cliched, as were the staff and the treatment they meted out.

Overall, the book was entertaining, however, I felt that having the main character as a damsel in distress did the book a disservice, especially having just read Constanza, which had a strong lead female character who also suffered the misogyny of her time, but remained a strong, female character.

Worth a read if you like a dark, gothic novel that is easy to read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is how I like my historical fiction to be, one of my favourite reads so far this year.

I’m looking forward to reading more by the author

This is dark and atmospheric. I like the unreliable narrator. The story is interesting and clever. The storyline is quite unnerving and very gothic. It is well written

A dark tale set in Victorian times. A young girl refuses a marriage proposal and her family lock her away in a lunatic asylum, The book charts how she has to keep her wits about her to have any chance of escaping. he book tells a story of attitudes towards duty, desire, madness and sanity. It gives a portrait of life in a Victorian lunatic asylum

All my favourite things from the 19th century. Gothic, atmospheric, secrets, rumours and an asylum so vivid it was terrifying.

Tragically, this book ended up not being for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

Violet is a young woman of the late nineteenth century who is tired of being bound over by the constraints of the era she lives in: the woman’s place only to be married, uneducated, unfulfilled and unable to be her authentic self. This is a time when it is more than dangerous to attempt to colour outside of the lines, to walk a different path. Violet struggles with the expectations placed upon her, the family needing her to marry her childhood friend Felix, but her own conflicting dream to be apprenticed to an artist.
This is a story about madness; the illusion of societal norms made up by men and the crushing truth of the expectations placed upon women. This is a gothic story based on the horrific truths of a time when women were often locked away for disagreements, melancholy, boredom and boldness. The themes of this tale are patriarchy, “the second sex” and abuse.

It will evoke emotions that undoubtedly include outrage, sadness and gratitude. This is a compelling story, and would make a good book club discussion. I highly recommend The Darlings of the Asylum by Noel O’Reilly.

This one didn't really land for me. While the subject matter was interesting, comparing the characters to those who appear in the Madwoman's Ball or Fingersmith, or even the Woman in White, left this cast feeling a bit thin and interchangeable. There was also something a bit uncomfortable about the way the women were described. Possibly because this was written by a male author? While the horrors of Victorian (and earlier)asylums were well documented, this did feel as if there was a salacious edge.

I really enjoyed reading about Violet Pring. I always wonder, when reading Regency era novels, whether the women were truly as empty headed as they are portrayed. Violet certainly wasn't.

This book is very reminiscent of Girl, Interrupted and The Mad Women's Ball. It's about women defying convention but it's also shining a light on the quackery and condition of the British asylums and the people in their care.

Really good historical fiction. Violet’s story is very well written and will have you rooting for her. Sadly, Violet’s story is so close to many women’s stories, and whilst you can enjoy the suspense of Violet’s story you will also get a real sense of the injustice that has been experienced by many women in history.

This was a fabulous historical read, that really brings home the insanity of the times that we lived through where women couldn't follow their dreams, and if they dared go against the grain they were locked up and treated as insane.

Violet is the heroine of this story - a free spirit who wants to be an artist, but her family disagrees! And so does society! Young women should just aspire to be married. That is it! It is not proper for women to enjoy themselves and do what is right for them! So when she says no to the arranged marriage her mother sets up, she is locked up as deranged!

It was fascinating to read how she complies while she's in there just to get by. She needs to understand why nobody can understand her wants and needs, and she loves to talk to the other women in the asylum about their experiences. The treatment of the women is pretty horrific too if they dare to disobey.

I found the ending pretty shocking as it wasn't what I expected but it made me sit up and take notice, and also rethink a few of my early perceptions of characters!! That's what made this such an enjoyable read! Not everything is straightforward and I loved how the author played around with the characteristics and really mixed things up!!

The Darlings of the Asylum is a great story and I couldn't put it down.
I adored Violet instantly and was rooting for her throughout the entire story. All she wants is to be an artist and this, with her dislike of being forced into marriage, is what lands her in an asylum, an asylum which she will probably never leave.
The characters are all extremely well rounded and the interactions seemed believable. I would have perhaps liked more detail about some of the other patients in the asylum and more in that environment but the story moved forward with a good pace and had a great ending.

Not the first novel I read about the insane attitudes and medical procedures around mental health in Victorian times, but one of the best.

Noel O'Reilly can spin such a gripping and fascinating narrative. I was there, in the story, at all times! I rooted for Violet, I wanted her to be the artist she deserved to be. I wanted her to be loved for herself and allowed to blossom. I suffered alongside her and I've luxuriated in her schemes to escape. Oh and then that ending...it took me by surprise and what a gorgeous surprise that was!

I would admit that many elements could be classed at tropes, especially seen the subject. In particular once she was admitted to the sanatorium. But that didn't disturb be in the least, because, as I've said above, O'Reilly has a way with words. By that point I was so invested, I only cared about her safe escape from the clutches of that mad man of a doctor, lol. But I think, the novelty element that the author introduces here is the character of Violet. In my view she is a person who has mental health problems. This are being explored from an artistic point of view, that "madness" that overcome artists and makes them create new things, have different perspectives, come up with subject unexplored by other artists. It is definitely a complex way of looking at potential mental health issues, at what we are pushed to do in moment of extreme emotions/fears. But it also highlights that some mental health ailments should not be a death sentence!

I was excited to read this as I enjoy historical fiction centred around women's misdiagnosed mental illnesses in past times. I felt drawn to the main character and felt the book started well and gave the reader a good sense of who she was. However, the beginning was quite long, I'd have liked more of the book to be set in the actual asylum. There were many good twists and turns but I felt the book was a bit muddled and missed the mark a bit for what I was expecting. I expected this to be more centred around a strong willed female character who was misdiagnosed as mentally unstable for not conforming to society's standards and while the beginning of the story gave that impression, the subsequent twists just didn't land for me. Still enjoyed the story but felt something was missing.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and HQ for approving me for an ARC of this book.

The story opens with Violet Pring. A young, unmarried woman with a passion for art and desperate to forge her own path in the Victorian world. Her mother has other ideas though. Keen to see her daughter married off, she starts to plot a tryst between Violet and a man that has been a friend to Violet since childhood. It soon becomes clear that Violet is not keen on this match and she makes her thoughts known, much to her mother’s annoyance.

Violet starts to find herself infatuated with a new artist in the town and after paying him a visit to show her latest artwork, it seems the feeling is mutual. When her mother and father hear of this latest artist’s interest in Violet they are embarrassed for their family and determined to steer her on the right path. God forbid a young woman in the 1800s should wish to be anything other than a wife!

Violet soon finds herself locked away in Hillwood Grange but the strange thing is, she can’t remember how she got there and why her family felt it was necessary to send her way. Surely not agreeing to marry a young man doesn’t mean you deserve to find yourself in an asylum? As Violet continues her stay at Hillwood Grange she gets to know her family Doctor, Dr Rastrick, a lot better and learn that she has more to fear then just being locked in the asylum. Are the other residents as mad as they seem or is there something darker at work here? All of the questions, plus a fantastic twist are all revealed in time.

I had a lot of sympathy for Violet and the situation she found herself in. This story really brought to life the expectations and struggles women in the Victorian era faced. Her father was reluctant to stand up to Violet’s mother and seemed to only realise what he was doing was wrong, at the last minute. Violet’s mother was something else entirely. A very dramatic woman who used emotional blackmail to get what she wanted, she certainly rubbed me up with wrong way from the start.

As we explored Violet’s inner thoughts throughout the novel we see her fear, her love and her passion. The friendships she made and her will to survive showed her true loyalty and bravery, I couldn’t begin to imagine living inside an asylum during those times. A dark, gothic and haunting story, filled with mystery and intrigue. It will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page!

The idea of this story intrigued me, the main character Violet is a strong women, interested in sports and an artist but in a time where women have to marry and can't do 'unlady' like things. She has an offer of marriage but she is determined not to follow that path. After reading Austen and other books about women who get married or don't I have mixed feelings about her decisions. On the one hand I understand that she wants independence and to pursue her dream but on the other she has been offered the chance to do so with money and a home from a man who is her friend.

When her family's fortunes are in trouble I wonder if it is selfish of her to seek a different path but then she changes her mind.

There is mention of an illness that her and her mother have. And it's difficult to know if its a real affliction as she seems to think it's her mother trying to get her way. Is it the treatment of the time of women when they try to be themselves? Or does she genuinely have an illness?
I had expected most of the book to be set in the asylum but the beginning wasn't and I was disappointed but stuck with it. There were a few scenes set there but not what I expected from the blurb.

Then when the story got to her being put into the asylum it was very sudden. Sadly sometimes I found this book dull. I think if it was in the asylum from the start and then told how she got there in flashback it might've been more interesting. Sometimes I thought she could be mentally ill because of her actions but then other times I thought she was naive and immature in her actions and decisions.

I don't know what to think about the end of this story. Sometimes it seems like the ideas are plucked from nowwhere, unless I missed something. Maybe Violet is a unreliable narrator. Just didn't seem like it was headed in that direction and I'm left wondering what was the point of the story. I would never have guessed the end and despite one hint of it I'm still left disappointed

Is it deleberate that we are left wondering still what is going on inside her head? What her condition is and if she is right about her conclusions concerning the other people?
Maybe my expectations have affected my opinion of this book too much. If she is ill that would be a simpler explanation I guess.

Not sure if the format is because it's an ARC but the lack of paragraphs made reading this very daunting on the eye.