A New York Times best historical novel of the year, adapted as a
major film for Amazon Prime, this feminist literary thriller is set in
Paris's infamous Salpêtrière asylum--now in paperback
The Salpêtrière Asylum: Paris, 1885. Dr. Charcot holds all of Paris in
thrall with his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad
and cast out from society. But the truth is much more complicated--these
women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives, those who have lost
something precious, wayward daughters, or girls born from adulterous
relationships. For Parisian society, the highlight of the year is the
Lenten ball--the Mad Women's Ball--when the great and good come to gawk
at the patients of the Salpêtrière dressed up in their finery for one
night only. For the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope.
Genevieve is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister
Blandine, she shunned religion and placed her faith in both the
celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Charcot and science. But everything begins
to change when she meets Eugénie, the 19-year-old daughter of a
bourgeois family that has locked her away in the asylum. Because Eugénie
has a secret: she sees spirits. Inspired by the scandalous, banned work
that all of Paris is talking about, The Book of Spirits, Eugénie is
determined to escape from the asylum--and the bonds of her gender--and
seek out those who will believe in her. And for that she will need
Genevieve's help . . .
