Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

In spite of his contribution to psychiatry in 19th century Britain, Henry Maudsley remains a mysterious figure, a man mostly known for his donation to the London County Council for the building of the Maudsley Hospital and for The Maudsley Annual Lecture created in honour of his benevolence. Besides Sir Aubrey Lewis’ article in 1951 and Michael Collie’s attempt in 1988 to construct a biographical study on Maudsley, there does not seem to be any current endeavour to tell the story of his life, whereas Trevor Turner’s contribution to the 2004 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography gives a somewhat scathing but unattributed account of Maudsley’s personality. This essay attempts to explore his contributions to the Medico-Psychological Association (MPA), the current Royal College of Psychiatrists, his editorship of the Journal of Mental Health (currently named the British Journal of Psychiatry), his literary contributions and his vision for a psychiatric hospital. This essay is an attempt to demystify his figure and to explore some of the rumours and criticisms surrounding his name and the reasons why so little has been written about him. It is also a venture to unravel his complex personality and his intricate philosophy.

Keywords

Henry Maudsley Maudsley Hospital history of psychiatry

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Turner

. Henry Maudsley? Psychiatrist, philosopher and entrepreneur. Psychological Medicine 1988; 18: 551–574.

Lewis

. The twenty-fifth Maudsley lecture. Henry Maudsley: his work and influence. Journal of Mental Science 1951; 97: 259–277.

Collie

. Henry Maudsley, Victorian psychiatrist: A bibliographical study, Winchester: St Paul's Bibliographies, 1988.

Rollin

. Disappearance of Henry Maudsley. Correspondence. British Journal of Psychiatry 2010; 197: 499–499.

Bewley T. Madness to mental illness. A history of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Online archive 11, Henry Maudsley (1835–1918). http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Online%20archive%2011%20Henry%20Maudsley.pdf (Accessed 7 April 2013).

Bartrip

PWJ

. Looming larger. British Medical Journal 1989; 298: 686–687.

Crozier

. Nineteenth-century British psychiatric writing about homosexuality before Havelock Ellis: the missing story. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 2008; 63: 72–74.

Savage GH and Henry Maudsley. Journal of Mental Science 1918; 64: 116–129.

Walk

. Medico-psychologists, Maudsley and the Maudsley. British Journal of Psychiatry 1976; 128: 19–30.

10.

Maudsley

. An address on medical psychology delivered at the opening of the psychological section at the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association. British Medical Journal 1872; 2: 163–167.

11.

Maudsley

. Address in medicine delivered at the seventy-third annual meeting of the British Medical Association. British Medical Journal 1905; 2: 227–231.

12.

Gunn

. Forensic psychiatry in England: a system in transition. Japanese Journal of Psychiatry and Neurology 1994; 48: 97–103.

13.

Norman

. Psychiatry in relation to biography and history. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 1930; 23: 1425–1435.

14.

Jones

Rahman

Woolven

. The Maudsley Hospital: design and strategic direction, 1923–1939. Medical History 2007; 51: 357–378.

15.

Jones

Rahman

. The Maudsley Hospital and the Rockefeller Foundation: the impact of philanthropy on research and training. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 2009; 64: 273–299.

16.

Delamothe

. Maudsley of the Maudsley. British Medical Journal 1988; 297: 1120–1122.

17.

Bewley T. Madness to mental illness; a history of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Online%20archive%2033%20Lectures%20and%20lecturers.pdf (accessed 7 April 2013).

18.

Kolb

. The institutes of psychiatry: growth, development, and future. Psychological Medicine 1970; 1: 86–95.

19.

Maudsley

. The correlation of mental and physical force; or, man a part of nature. Journal of Mental Science 1859; 6: 50–78.

20.

Gilbert

. Masturbation and insanity: Henry Maudsley and the ideology of sexual repression. Albion 1980; 12: 268–282.

21.

Maudsley

. The genesis of mind. Journal of Mental Science 1862; 7: 461–494.

22.

Maudsley

. Edgar Allan Poe. American Journal of Insanity 1860; 17: 152–198.

23.

Maudsley

. The pathology of mind, London: MacMillan, 1879.

24.

Maudlsey

. Criminals’ responsibility: correspondence. British Medical Journal 1864; 1: 192–193.

25.

Maudsley

. Remarks on crime and criminals. Journal of Mental Science 1888; 33–34: 159–167.

26.

Maudsley

. Religion and realities, London: John Bale, Sons, & Danielsson, 1918.

27.

Maudsley

. Body and mind: An inquiry into their connection and mutual influence, specially in reference to mental disorders 1873; Vol. 15, London: Macmillan and Co, pp. 145–342.

28.

Maudsley

. The theory of vitality. British & Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review 1863; 32: 400–423.

29.

Maudsley

. Optimism and pessimism. Journal of Mental Science 1917; 63: 1–16.

30.

Bond CH. Maudsley. [Lecture] The Royal Medico-Psychological Association, 24 November 1931. http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Online%20archive%2033%20Lectures%20and%20lecturers.pdf (accessed 7 April 2013).

31.

Maudsley

. Henry Maudsley: autobiography, 1912. British Journal of Psychiatry 1988; 153: 736–740.

32.

Maudsley

. Materialism and spiritualism. Journal of Mental Science 1917; 63: 494–506.

33.

Maudsley

. Heredity, variation and genius; with essay on Shakespeare, “Testimonied in His Own Bringingsforth” and address on medicine, present and prospective, London: John Bale, Sons, & Danielsson, 1908.

34.

Rollin H. Whatever happened to Henry Maudsley? In: Berrios GE and Freeman H (eds) 150 years of British psychiatry, 1841–1991. Gaskell, 1991, pp.351–358.

35.

Neve

Turner

. What the doctor thought and did: Sir James Crichton-Browne 1840–1938. Medical History 1995; 39: 399–432.

36.

Maudsley

. Considerations with regard to hereditary influence. Journal of Mental Science 1864; 9: 506–530.

37.

Jones

Rahman

. Framing mental illness (1923–1939): The Maudsley Hospital and its patients. Social History of Medicine 2008; 21: 107–125.

38.

Maudsley

. Introductory lecture at University College. Lancet 1876; 2: 490–495.

The enigmatic figure of Dr Henry Maudsley (1835–1918)

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References