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Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill
by Robert WhitakerAn updated edition of the classic history of schizophrenia in America, which gives voice to generations of patients who suffered through "cures" that only deepened their suffering and impaired their hope of recoverySchizophrenics in the United States currently fare worse than patients in the world's poorest countries. In Mad in America, medical journalist Robert Whitaker argues that modern treatments for the severely mentally ill are just old medicine in new bottles, and that we as a society are deeply deluded about their efficacy. The widespread use of lobotomies in the 1920s and 1930s gave way in the 1950s to electroshock and a wave of new drugs. In what is perhaps Whitaker's most damning revelation, Mad in America examines how drug companies in the 1980s and 1990s skewed their studies to prove that new antipsychotic drugs were more effective than the old, while keeping patients in the dark about dangerous side effects. A haunting, deeply compassionate book-updated with a new introduction and prologue bringing in the latest medical treatments and trends-Mad in America raises important questions about our obligations to the mad, the meaning of "insanity," and what we value most about the human mind.
Mad or Bad: Crime and Insanity in Victorian Britain
by David J. VaughanIn a violent 19th century, desperate attempts by the alienists - a new wave of 'mad-doctor' - brought the insanity plea into Victorian courts. Defining psychological conditions in an attempt at acquittal, they faced ridicule, obstruction - even professional ruin - as they strove for acceptance and struggled for change. It left 'mad people' hanged for offenses they could not remember, and bad people freed on unscrupulous pleas.Written in accessible language, this book - unlike any before it - retells twenty-five cases, from the renowned to obscure, including an attempt to murder a bemused Queen Victoria; the poisoner Dove and the much-feared magician; the kings former wet-nurse who slaughtered six children; the worst serial killer in Britainand more.A Who's Who introduces the principal players - lifesaving medics, like Maudsley and Bucknill; intransigent lawyers like Bramwell and Parke., while a convenient Glossary of terms and conditions: ranging from Insane on Arraignment to Her Majestys Pleasure, Ticket of Leave to Burden of Proof, helps to explain the outcomes of the cases.Insanity Conditions presents, in glossary format, the diagnosed maladies put forward in court. Rarely accepted, more often rejected, by those keen on justice in its traditional form. A History of Debate explains the titular subject - through graspable language and a window in time. How the ones found 'not guilty on the grounds of insanity' were curiously handled in Victorian law.A chapter devoted to madness and women - from hysteria to murder, monthly madness to crime. Raising opportune questions about the issue of gender, and exposing the truths of a masculine world.
Mad with Freedom: The Political Economy of Blackness, Insanity, and Civil Rights in the U.S. South, 1840–1940
by Élodie Edwards-GrossiThe use of race in studies of insanity in the 1840s and 1850s gave rise to politically charged theories on the differential biology and pathologies of brains in whites and Blacks. In Mad with Freedom, Élodie Edwards-Grossi explores the largely unknown social history of these racialized theories on insanity in the segregated South. She unites an institutional history of psychiatric spaces in the South that housed Black patients with an intellectual history of early psychiatric theories that defined the Black body as a locus for specific pathologies. Edwards-Grossi also reveals the subtle, localized techniques of resistance later employed by Black patients to confront medical power. Her work shows the continuous politicization of science and theories on insanity in the context of Reconstruction and the Jim Crow South.
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: The Extraordinary Exploits of the British and European Aristocracy
by Karl ShawThe alarming history of the British, and European, aristocracy - from Argyll to Wellington and from Byron to Tolstoy, stories of madness, murder, misery, greed and profligacy.From Regency playhouses, to which young noblemen would go simply in order to insult someone to provoke a duel that might further their reputation, to the fashionable gambling clubs or 'hells' which were springing up around St James's in the mid-eighteenth century, the often bizarre doings of aristocrats. An eighteenth-century English gentleman was required to have what was known as 'bottom', a shipping metaphor that referred to stability. Taking part in a duel was a bold statement that you had bottom. William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne certainly had bottom, if not a complete set of gonads following his duel with Colonel Fullarton, MP for Plympton. Both men missed with their first shots, but the colonel fired again and shot off Shelborne's right testicle. Despite being hit, Shelborne deliberately discharged his second shot in the air. When asked how he was, the injured Earl coolly observed his wound and said, 'I don't think Lady Shelborne will be the worse for it.' The cast of characters includes imperious, hard-drinking and highly volatile Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who is remembered today as much for his brilliant scientific career as his talent for getting involved in bizarre mishaps, such as his death as a result of his burst bladder; the Marquess of Queensberry, a side-whiskered psychopath, who, on a luxury steamboat in Brazil, in a row with a fellow passenger over the difference between emus and ostriches, and knocked him out cold; and Thomas, 2nd Baron Lyttelton, a Georgian rake straight out of central casting, who ran up enormous gambling debts, fought duels, frequented brothels and succumbed to drug and alcohol addiction.Often, such rakes would be swiftly packed off on a Grand Tour in the hope that travel would bring about maturity. It seldom did.
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: The Extraordinary Exploits of the British and European Aristocracy
by Karl ShawThe alarming history of the British, and European, aristocracy - from Argyll to Wellington and from Byron to Tolstoy, stories of madness, murder, misery, greed and profligacy.From Regency playhouses, to which young noblemen would go simply in order to insult someone to provoke a duel that might further their reputation, to the fashionable gambling clubs or 'hells' which were springing up around St James's in the mid-eighteenth century, the often bizarre doings of aristocrats. An eighteenth-century English gentleman was required to have what was known as 'bottom', a shipping metaphor that referred to stability. Taking part in a duel was a bold statement that you had bottom. William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne certainly had bottom, if not a complete set of gonads following his duel with Colonel Fullarton, MP for Plympton. Both men missed with their first shots, but the colonel fired again and shot off Shelborne's right testicle. Despite being hit, Shelborne deliberately discharged his second shot in the air. When asked how he was, the injured Earl coolly observed his wound and said, 'I don't think Lady Shelborne will be the worse for it.' The cast of characters includes imperious, hard-drinking and highly volatile Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who is remembered today as much for his brilliant scientific career as his talent for getting involved in bizarre mishaps, such as his death as a result of his burst bladder; the Marquess of Queensberry, a side-whiskered psychopath, who, on a luxury steamboat in Brazil, in a row with a fellow passenger over the difference between emus and ostriches, and knocked him out cold; and Thomas, 2nd Baron Lyttelton, a Georgian rake straight out of central casting, who ran up enormous gambling debts, fought duels, frequented brothels and succumbed to drug and alcohol addiction.Often, such rakes would be swiftly packed off on a Grand Tour in the hope that travel would bring about maturity. It seldom did.
Mad, Bad and Dangerous: The Eccentricity of Tyrants
by Tom AmbroseA penetrating and incisive study of the fanaticism and foibles of some of history's most illustrious namesFrom Assad to Nero, Gaddafi to Ivan The Terrible, this work attempts a thorough illumination of the minds of some of the most powerful people in history. While leaving some room to describe the amusing incidents and eccentricities associated with a host of men and women of power, it also reaches into the terrifying depths and depravities of minds that shaped the destinies of peoples and nations. Using a unique combination of history, politics, and psychology, this book fully describes how power not only corrupts but deranges.
Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors
by Lisa AppignanesiThis fascinating history of mind doctors and their patients probes the ways in which madness, badness, and sadness have been understood over the last two centuries. Lisa Appignanesi charts a story from the days when the mad were considered possessed to our own century when the official psychiatric manual lists some 350 mental disorders. Women play a key role here, both as patients "among them Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, and Marilyn Monroe" and as therapists. Controversially, Appignanesi argues that women have significantly changed the nature of mind-doctoring, but in the process they have also inadvertently highlighted new patterns of illness.
Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know: The Fathers of Wilde, Yeats, and Joyce
by Colm ToibinAward-winning author Colm Tóibín turns his incisive gaze to three of the world's greatest writers, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, and James Joyce, and their earliest influences: their fathers."A father...is a necessary evil." Stephen Dedalus in UlyssesIn Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know, Colm Tóibín illuminates not only the complex relationships between three of the greatest writers in the English language and their fathers, but also illustrates the surprising ways they surface in their work. <P><P>From Wilde's doctor father, a brilliant statistician and amateur archaeologist, who was taken to court by an obsessed lover in a strange premonition of what would happen to his son; to Yeats' father, an impoverished artist and brilliant letter-writer who could never finish a painting; to John Stanislaus Joyce, a singer, drinker, and storyteller, a man unwilling to provide for his large family, whom his son James memorialised in his writing, Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know brilliantly combines biography and literary appreciation and is a revealing, personal new look at the lives of three major literary icons.
Mad, Bad, and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors
by Lisa Appignanesi"[A work of] wit, wisdom and richness. . . . A grand tour of derangement, from matricide to anorexia." --John Leonard, Harper's This fascinating history of mind doctors and their patients probes the ways in which madness, badness, and sadness have been understood over the last two centuries. Lisa Appignanesi charts a story from the days when the mad were considered possessed to our own century when the official psychiatric manual lists some 350 mental disorders. Women play a key role here, both as patients--among them Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, and Marilyn Monroe--and as therapists. Controversially, Appignanesi argues that women have significantly changed the nature of mind-doctoring, but in the process they have also inadvertently highlighted new patterns of illness.
Mad-Doctors in the Dock: Defending the Diagnosis 1760–1913
by Joel Peter Eigen“Detailed courtroom narratives . . . give us a colorful and gripping sense of the life-and-death maneuvers involved in mounting an insanity defense.” —Andrew Scull, author of Madness in CivilizationShortly before she pushed her infant daughter headfirst into a bucket of water and fastened the lid, Annie Cherry warmed the pail because, as she later explained to a police officer, “It would have been cruel to put her in cold water.” Afterwards, this mother sat down and poured herself a cup of tea. At Cherry’s trial at the Old Bailey in 1877, Henry Charlton Bastian, physician to the National Hospital for the Paralyzed and Epileptic, focused his testimony on her preternatural calm following the drowning. Like many other late Victorian medical men, Bastian believed that the mother’s act and her subsequent behavior indicated homicidal mania, a novel species of madness that challenged the law’s criterion for assigning criminal culpability.How did Dr. Bastian and his cohort of London’s physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries—originally known as “mad-doctors”—arrive at such an innovative diagnosis, and how did they defend it in court? Mad-Doctors in the Dock is a sophisticated exploration of the history of the insanity defense in the English courtroom from the middle of the eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. Joel Peter Eigen examines courtroom testimony offered in nearly 1,000insanity trials, transporting us into the world of psychiatric diagnosis and criminal justice. The first comprehensive account of how medical insight and folk psychology met in the courtroom, this book makes clear the tragedy of the crimes, the spectacle of the trials, and the consequences of the diagnosis for the emerging field of forensic psychiatry.
Mad-Doctors in the Dock: Defending the Diagnosis, 1760–1913
by Joel Peter EigenA captivating history of the defense of the insanity plea in England.Shortly before she pushed her infant daughter headfirst into a bucket of water and fastened the lid, Annie Cherry warmed the pail because, as she later explained to a police officer, "It would have been cruel to put her in cold water." Afterwards, this mother sat down and poured herself a cup of tea. At Cherry’s trial at the Old Bailey in 1877, Henry Charlton Bastian, physician to the National Hospital for the Paralyzed and Epileptic, focused his testimony on her preternatural calm following the drowning. Like many other late Victorian medical men, Bastian believed that the mother’s act and her subsequent behavior indicated homicidal mania, a novel species of madness that challenged the law’s criterion for assigning criminal culpability.How did Dr. Bastian and his cohort of London’s physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries—originally known as "mad-doctors"—arrive at such an innovative diagnosis, and how did they defend it in court? Mad-Doctors in the Dock is a sophisticated exploration of the history of the insanity defense in the English courtroom from the middle of the eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. Joel Peter Eigen examines courtroom testimony offered in nearly 1,000 insanity trials, transporting us into the world of psychiatric diagnosis and criminal justice. The first comprehensive account of how medical insight and folk psychology met in the courtroom, this book makes clear the tragedy of the crimes, the spectacle of the trials, and the consequences of the diagnosis for the emerging field of forensic psychiatry.
Madagascar: Conflicts Of Authority In The Great Island (G - Reference, Information And Interdisciplinary Subjects Ser. #No. 98)
by Philip M. AllenThe world's fourth largest island, with a unique biological and physical endowment, Madagascar is home to an extraordinary insular civilization that has struggled for more than a century against external domination. In this sensitive introduction to the Indian Ocean's "great island," Philip Allen shows how family affinities and community loyalties at the foundation of Madagascar's culture have influenced Malagasy nationalism and forged islandwide traditions. These same principles have nonetheless engendered social cleavages and resistance to economic and political change. In chapters on modern Madagascar, Allen analyzes the inability of a series of regimes to maintain authority among a people deeply bound to rituals of communication with their spiritual environment. He demonstrates how the first Malagasy Republic became stigmatized by its lingering identification with French colonialism and how the nationalist revolution in 1972 soon hardened into autocratic radicalism. Allen explores the complex challenges facing Madagascar's resurgent democratic forces–including a need to conserve the island's irreplaceable biodiversity and to facilitate authentic participation in public affairs without offending ancestral customs and local precedents. Finally, he discusses efforts to end Madagascar's economic and political dependence and to improve living conditions for its tragically impoverished population.
Madam
by Kellie Martin Cari LynnWhen vice had a legal home and jazz was being born--the captivating story of an infamous true-life madam New Orleans, 1900. Mary Deubler makes a meager living as an "alley whore." That all changes when bible-thumping Alderman Sidney Story forces the creation of a red-light district that's mockingly dubbed "Storyville." Mary believes there's no place for a lowly girl like her in the high-class bordellos of Storyville's Basin Street, where Champagne flows and beautiful girls turn tricks in luxurious bedrooms. But with gumption, twists of fate, even a touch of Voodoo, Mary rises above her hopeless lot to become the notorious Madame Josie Arlington. Filled with fascinating historical details and cameos by Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and E. J. Bellocq, Madam is a fantastic romp through The Big Easy and the irresistible story of a woman who rose to power long before the era of equal rights.
Madam C. J. Walker
by Robin SpevacekMadam C. J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 and rose from poverty to become one of the richest African American women of her time. Her determination to succeed never faltered, and she helped many people along the way.
Madam C. J. Walker's Gospel of Giving: Black Women's Philanthropy during Jim Crow (New Black Studies Series)
by Tyrone McKinley FreemanFounder of a beauty empire, Madam C. J. Walker was celebrated as America's first self-made female millionaire in the early 1900s. Known as a leading African American entrepreneur, Walker was also devoted to an activist philanthropy aimed at empowering African Americans and challenging the injustices inflicted by Jim Crow. Tyrone McKinley Freeman's biography highlights how giving shaped Walker's life before and after she became wealthy. Poor and widowed when she arrived in St. Louis in her twenties, Walker found mentorship among black churchgoers and working black women. Her adoption of faith, racial uplift, education, and self-help soon informed her dedication to assisting black women's entrepreneurship, financial independence, and activism. Walker embedded her philanthropy in how she grew her business, forged alliances with groups like the National Association of Colored Women, funded schools and social service agencies led by African American women, and enlisted her company's sales agents in local charity and advocacy work. Illuminating and dramatic, Madam C. J. Walker’s Gospel of Giving broadens our understanding of black women’s charitable giving and establishes Walker as a foremother of African American philanthropy.
Madam C. J. Walker: The Inspiring Life Story of the Hair Care Entrepreneur (Inspiring Stories)
by Darlene R. StilleMadam C.J. Walker worked hard her entire life. The nationally known business leader gave generously of her time and money to further the cause of civil rights. She brought hope and optimism to African-Americans and tirelessly fought for racial equality.
Madam Chief Justice: Jean Hoefer Toal of South Carolina
by W. Lewis Burke Jr. Joan P. AsseyIn Madam Chief Justice, editors W. Lewis Burke Jr. and Joan P. Assey chronicle the remarkable career of Jean Hoefer Toal, South Carolina's first female Supreme Court Chief Justice. As a lawyer, legislator, and judge, Toal is one of the most accomplished women in South Carolina history. In this volume, contributors, including two United States Supreme Court Justices, federal and state judges state leaders, historians, legal scholars, leading attorneys, family, and friends, provide analysis, perspective, and biographical information about the life and career of this dynamic leader and her role in shaping South Carolina. Growing up in Columbia during the 1950s and 60s, Jean Hoefer was a youthful witness to the civil rights movement in the state and nation. Observing the state's premier civil rights lawyer Matthew J. Perry Jr. in court encouraged her to attend law school, where she met her husband, Bill Toal. When she was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1968, fewer than one hundred women had been admitted in the state's history. From then forward she was both a leader and a role model. As a lawyer she excelled in trial and appellate work and won major victories on behalf of Native Americans and women. In 1975, Toal was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives and despite her age and gender quickly became one of the most respected members of that body. During her fourteen years as a House member, Toal promoted major legislation on many issues including constitutional law, criminal law, utilities regulation, local government, state appropriations, workers compensation, and freedom of information. In 1988, Toal was sworn in as the first female justice on the Supreme Court of South Carolina, where she made her mark through her preparation and insight. She was elected Chief Justice in 2000, becoming the first woman ever to hold the highest position in the state's judiciary. As Chief Justice, Toal not only modernized her court, but also the state's judicial system. As Toal's two daughters write in their chapter, the traits their mother brings to her professional life—exuberance, determination, and loyalty—are the same traits she demonstrates in her personal and family life. As a child, Toal loved roller skating in the lobby of the post office,a historic building that now serves as the Supreme Court of South Carolina. From a child in Columbia to Madam Chief Justice, her story comes full circle in this compelling account of her life and influence. Madam Chief Justice features a foreword by Sandra Day O'Connor, retired associate justice of the United State Supreme Court, and an introduction by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.Contributors:Joseph F. Anderson, Jr.Joan P. AsseyJay BenderC. Mitchell BrownW. Lewis Burke Jr.M. Elizabeth (Liz) CrumTina CundariCameron McGowan CurrieWalter B. EdgarJean Toal EisenRobert L. FelixRichard Mark GergelRuth Bader GinsburgElizabeth Van Doren GraySue Erwin HarperJessica Childers HarringtonKaye G. HearnBlake HewittI. S. Leevy JohnsonJohn W. KittredgeLilla Toal MandsagerMary Campbell McQueenJames E. MooreSandra Day O'ConnorRichard W. RileyBakari T. SellersRobert J. SheheenAmelia Waring WalkerBradish J. Waring
Madam President
by Douglas B. Jones Catherine ThimmeshCatherine Thimmesh's inspiring look at the role of women in American politics-past, present, and future-is now available with updated sections on Hillary Rodham Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, and Nancy Pelosi. From the time our government was being formed, women have fought their way from behind the scenes to the center of power and decision making. So, why not a woman in the White House? Two thousand eight may be the year!
Madam President, Revised Edition: Women Blazing the Leadership Trail (American History Ser.)
by Eleanor Clift Tom BrazaitisFirst Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson
by William HazelgroveAfter President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke in the fall of 1919, his wife, First Lady Edith Wilson, began to handle the day-to-day responsibilities of the Executive Office. <P><P>Mrs. Wilson had had little formal education and had only been married to President Wilson for four years; yet, in the tenuous peace following the end of World War I, Mrs. Wilson assumed the authority of the office of the president, reading all correspondence intended for her bedridden husband and assuming his role for seventeen long months. <P><P>Though her Oval Office presence was acknowledged in Washington, D.C. circles at the time-one senator called her "the Presidentress who had fulfilled the dream of suffragettes by changing her title from First Lady to Acting First Man"-her legacy as "First Woman President" is now largely forgotten. <P><P>William Hazelgrove's Madam President is a vivid, engaging portrait of the woman who became the acting President of the United States in 1919, months before women officially won the right to vote.
Madam, General Revives Again: Volume 1 (Volume 1 #1)
by Bai YanThe female doctor, Yi Qing, had transmigrated to become an exiled Shu girl, had brought along an unknown father as a burden, and had been forced into marriage by her mother, how could this be a tragic word?When Yi Qing heard that the revered 'Hades' General Xiao Jinghan had sacrificed his life for his country, he immediately fished out a life-saving straw, "I am Xiao Jinghan's widow. My son is Xiao Jinghan's."Raising the steamed buns and hooking up with the pretty boy, she was like a fox that was faking its tiger's might as she massacred in every direction. Unexpectedly, the maidservant came back to report in panic, "Madam, the general is alive again!"Xiao Jinghan said sinisterly: "Madam? "Son?"Yi Qing said, "General, spare me!"
Madam, General Revives Again: Volume 3 (Volume 3 #3)
by Bai YanThe female doctor, Yi Qing, had transmigrated to become an exiled Shu girl, had brought along an unknown father as a burden, and had been forced into marriage by her mother, how could this be a tragic word?When Yi Qing heard that the revered 'Hades' General Xiao Jinghan had sacrificed his life for his country, he immediately fished out a life-saving straw, "I am Xiao Jinghan's widow. My son is Xiao Jinghan's."Raising the steamed buns and hooking up with the pretty boy, she was like a fox that was faking its tiger's might as she massacred in every direction. Unexpectedly, the maidservant came back to report in panic, "Madam, the general is alive again!"Xiao Jinghan said sinisterly: "Madam? "Son?"Yi Qing said, "General, spare me!"
Madam, Will You Talk?: The modern classic by the Queen of the Romantic Mystery
by Mary StewartThe original queen of the page-turner Mary Stewart leads her readers on a thrilling journey through a dangerous and deadly Provence in this tale perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym. 'Mary Stewart is magic' New York Times'One of the great British storytellers of the 20th century' Independent'The terrible thirsty heat of the Provençal summer, the noise of the cicadas, the dust of the country buses . . . an excellent tale of mystery' The TimesIt sounds idyllic: a leisurely drive through the sun-drenched landscape of Provence. But Charity's dream holiday turns into a nightmare when she becomes embroiled in a sinister plot to kidnap a young boy. She soon finds herself in a deadly pursuit and must uncover who to trust . . . and who to fall for. Whenever I look back now on the strange and terrifying events of that holiday in Southern France, I remember the minutes I spent gazing at the golden arches of the Roman aqueduct over the Gardon... the last brief lull before the thunder.'A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors.' Harriet Evans'She built the bridge between classic literature and modern popular fiction. She did it first and she did it best.' Herald
Madam, Will You Talk?: The modern classic by the queen of romantic suspense
by Mary StewartThe pioneer of romantic suspense, Mary Stewart leads listeners on a thrilling journey through a dangerous and deadly Provence in this tale perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym. It sounds idyllic: a leisurely drive through the sun-drenched landscape of Provence. But Charity's dream holiday turns into a nightmare when she becomes embroiled in a sinister plot to kidnap a young boy. She soon finds herself in a deadly pursuit and must uncover who to trust . . . and who to fall for. Whenever I look back now on the strange and terrifying events of that holiday in Southern France, I remember the minutes I spent gazing at the golden arches of the Roman aqueduct over the Gardon... the last brief lull before the thunder.(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
Madam, Will You Talk?: The modern classic by the queen of romantic suspense
by Mary StewartThe original queen of the page-turner Mary Stewart leads her readers on a thrilling journey through a dangerous and deadly Provence in this tale perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym. 'Mary Stewart is magic' New York Times'One of the great British storytellers of the 20th century' Independent'The terrible thirsty heat of the Provençal summer, the noise of the cicadas, the dust of the country buses . . . an excellent tale of mystery' The TimesIt sounds idyllic: a leisurely drive through the sun-drenched landscape of Provence. But Charity's dream holiday turns into a nightmare when she becomes embroiled in a sinister plot to kidnap a young boy. She soon finds herself in a deadly pursuit and must uncover who to trust . . . and who to fall for. Whenever I look back now on the strange and terrifying events of that holiday in Southern France, I remember the minutes I spent gazing at the golden arches of the Roman aqueduct over the Gardon... the last brief lull before the thunder.'A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors.' Harriet Evans'She built the bridge between classic literature and modern popular fiction. She did it first and she did it best.' Herald