Episodes
| Episode | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 20140217 | 20190128 (BBC7) 20190129 (BBC7) 20140218 (R4) | Episode 1: At its founding in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, Colney Hatch was the largest asylum in Europe. When Barbara Taylor revisited it years after her own stay there, it had been converted into luxury flats. Abridged and produced by: Jill Waters |
| 02 | 20140218 | 20190129 (BBC7) 20190130 (BBC7) 20140219 (R4) | Writing about The Last Asylum, Booker prize winner and memoirist, Hilary Mantel said, 'We believe our response to mental illness is more enlightened, kinder and effective than that of the Victorians who built the asylums. Can we be sure? Barbara Taylor challenges complacency, exposes shallow thinking, and points out the flaws and dangers of treatment on the cheap. It is a wise, considered and timely book'. Episode 2: Taylor recalls how, in the 1980s, the left-wing intelligentsia of London was infatuated with psychoanalysis. Listening to people 'swap couch gossip', she 'yearned to join in' - but was not prepared for the pain and despair which gained her entry into this world. Producer: Jill Waters |
| 03 | 20140219 | 20190130 (BBC7) 20190131 (BBC7) 20140220 (R4) | Writing about The Last Asylum, Booker prize winner and memoirist, Hilary Mantel said, 'We believe our response to mental illness is more enlightened, kinder and effective than that of the Victorians who built the asylums. Can we be sure? Barbara Taylor challenges complacency, exposes shallow thinking, and points out the flaws and dangers of treatment on the cheap. It is a wise, considered and timely book'. Episode 3: At severe risk of suicide and with her nightmares invading her waking world, the author was finally admitted to Friern Hospital, 'Colney Hatch'. Her analyst continues to challenge and support, her friends still visit, fellow patients are an unexpected source of warmth and humour. |
| 04 | 20140220 | 20190131 (BBC7) 20190201 (BBC7) 20140221 (R4) | Writing about The Last Asylum, Booker prize winner and memoirist, Hilary Mantel said, 'We believe our response to mental illness is more enlightened, kinder and effective than that of the Victorians who built the asylums. Can we be sure? Barbara Taylor challenges complacency, exposes shallow thinking, and points out the flaws and dangers of treatment on the cheap. It is a wise, considered and timely book'. Episode 4: The history of mental health hospitals is fraught with failures and good intentions. When it was decided to close down the old asylums, the care in the community revolution was already well underway. Barbara finds herself in a hostel. |
| 05 LAST | 20140221 | 20190201 (BBC7) 20190202 (BBC7) 20140222 (R4) | Writing about The Last Asylum, Booker prize winner and memoirist, Hilary Mantel said, 'We believe our response to mental illness is more enlightened, kinder and effective than that of the Victorians who built the asylums. Can we be sure? Barbara Taylor challenges complacency, exposes shallow thinking, and points out the flaws and dangers of treatment on the cheap. It is a wise, considered and timely book'. Episode 5: Gradually perspective returns, 'something inside me shifts'. The author recalls the return of hope but she also wonders if today's mental health system would offer the same space for recovery that she was able to find. A Jill Waters production for BBC Radio 4 |