REVIEW: MRS. ROBINSON’S DISGRACE by Kate Summerscale

Kate Summerscale has once again uncovered a fascinating story from the ever contradictory Victorian era.  Not so very long ago, divorce was nearly impossible (unless you were King Henry VIII, of course).  Until 1858, “marriage could only be dissolved by an individual Act of Parliament, at a cost prohibitive to almost all of the population.…

REVIEW: MEDICAL MUSES by Asti Hustvedt

Hysteria in the Nineteenth Century Paris An absolutely stunning and amazing book.  There were many overnight hours spent with a little light, awake and reading. Hustvedt demonstrates such thorough knowledge and ease about her topic that her academic precision never overpowers the compelling story of Charcot, Salpetriere and the “star” hysterics.  Hustvedt uses three main…