The Asylum

1906: Being a woman is dangerous, being different is deadly.

Maud Lovell has been at Angelton Lunatic Asylum for five years. She is not sure how she came to be there and knows nothing beyond its four walls. She is hysterical, distressed, untrustworthy. Badly unstable and prone to violence. Or so she has been told. When a new doctor arrives, keen to experiment with the revolutionary practice of medical hypnosis, Maud's lack of history makes her the perfect case study. But as Doctor Dimmond delves deeper into the past, it becomes clear that confinement and high doses are there to keep her silent.

When Maud finally remembers what has been done to her, and by whom, her mind turns to her past and to revenge.

“' Haunting and mesmerising '”

'Haunting and mesmerising' -- Essie Fox, author of The Last Days of Leda Grey
'Vivid, disturbing and visceral, The Asylum is this year's must-read!' -- Ruby Speechley, author of A Mother Like You
'This twisty rollercoaster story made me desperate for Maud's salvation and yearn for her revenge. Utterly compelling' -- Kerry Fisher, author of The Woman I Was Before
'Evocative, menacing and darkly sinister. A brilliantly executed gothic thriller that will leave you breathless' -- Jane Isaac, international bestselling crime fiction author
'A historic novel that seethes with claustrophobia, trauma and thoughts of revenge. What a sophisticated and gripping tale' -- Fiona Mitchell, author of The Swap

Karen Coles is a painter and sculptor based in Wales, not far from the site of the original Angelton Asylum. This is her first adult novel, based on letters written by previous inmates.

A gripping, gothic thriller about the mistreatment of mental health throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. 1906: Being a woman is dangerous, being different is deadly. Maud Lovell has been at Angelton Lunatic Asylum for five years. She is not sure how she came to be there and knows nothing beyond its four walls. She is hysterical, distressed, untrustworthy. Badly unstable and prone to violence. Or so she has been told. When a new doctor arrives, keen to experiment with the revolutionary practice of medical hypnosis, Maud's lack of history makes her the perfect case study. But as Doctor Dimmond delves deeper into the past, it becomes clear that confinement and high doses are there to keep her silent. When Maud finally remembers what has been done to her, and by whom, her mind turns to her past and to revenge.

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