Susan Tyler Hitchcock
Mad Mary Lamb
Lunacy and Murder in Literary London
"An informed and sympathetic portrait
of a troubled mind and humble heart."
—Kirkus Reviews
AFTER KILLING her mother with a carving knife,
Mary Lamb spent the rest of her life in and out of
madhouses; yet the crime and its aftermath opened
up a new life. Freed to read extensively, she discovered
her talent for writing and, with her brother, the essayist
Charles Lamb, collaborated on the famous Tales
from Shakespear. This narrative of a nearly forgotten
woman is a tapestry of insights into creativity and
madness, the changing lives of women, and the
redemptive power of the written word.
"A superb account of the complicated intersection
of insanity and literature."—Kay Redfield Jamison,
author of An Unquiet Mind
"Capably rescues Mary from the footnotes of her
brother's story."—The New Yorker
"Touching on the lunacy laws of the day, the
plight of women, and the burgeoning children's publishing
industry, Hitchcock vividly evokes the changing
times the Lambs lived in. A vibrant literary
biography."—Booklist
SUSAN TYLER HITCHCOCK has written
eleven books, including Coming About, which
received the John Southam Award for Sailing
Literature. She has a Ph.D. in English and
lives near Charlottesville, Virginia.
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