'1911: Inside an asylum at the edge of the Yorkshire moors,
where men and women are kept apart
by high walls and barred windows,
there is a ballroom vast and beautiful.
For one bright evening every week
they come together
and dance.
When John and Ella meet
it is a dance that will change
two lives forever.
Set over the heatwave summer of 1911, the end of the Edwardian era, THE BALLROOM is a historical love story. It tells a page-turning tale of dangerous obsession, of madness and sanity, and of who gets to decide which is which.'
I've read such great reviews of this book and though I did enjoy it overall, I found it quite slow in places, especially in the first half of the book. The story is told from three people's perspectives, Ella, a mill worker who is sent to the asylum for breaking a window, John, an Irish man who was admitted to the asylum from the workhouse, and Charles, a doctor who worked at the asylum.
The character I enjoyed reading about most was Charles, the doctor. He brought music to the wards of the asylum whilst he worked on a paper to present to the first International Eugenics conference. A complex character who's desperation to prove himself shapes Ella and John's future.
I would recommend this book, however, be prepared for the story to build gradually.
The setting of the story is Sharston Asylum but it was clear to me as the story progressed that this was based on the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum which was opened in 1888 and later renamed Menston Mental Hospital. In 1963 its name was changed once more to High Royds Hospital and this is where, in 1985, my grandpa died after being transferred there as he was suffering from dementia. The hospital closed in 2003 after it was declared to be outdated and unsuitable to modern psychiatric practice.
Anna Hope's great-great-grandfather died in the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum in 1918 and whilst looking for more information about the place online, she came across photos of the beautiful ballroom and knew she had to write about it.
It's sad to think that people ended up in asylums through poverty or petty crime as well as mental health problems, and of their treatment in places such as this.
More information about High Royds Hospital can be found at www.highroydshospital.com and photos of the magnificent ballroom can be found here.
Thank you for a good review and brilliant to have a connection.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading reviews myself, I find quite a few of the books I read from blogs and I especially enjoy reading books which have a reference to places I know.
DeleteGood review of a book that I really enjoyed reading. xx
ReplyDeleteI remember you reading this book and enjoying it. I didn't realise until I started reading it that the hospital was based on High Royds.
DeleteI really enjoyed the book as well and like you, went on to find out more about the real place. What’s even sadder for me is how many long term institutions were closed suddenly and the people who had lived there for years were suddenly put into house where they had no idea how to live independently. I enjoy your reviews-I have just finished “together” by Julie Cohen which will not be to everyone’s taste.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed this book too. I often go on to find out more about places, events or people that I read about, something I wouldn't have done when I was younger, I find I'm more interested in the world around me as I get older. I agree, it's sad to think that people who had lived in institutions suddenly found themselves having to fend for themselves when they were closed down, though many people were put in these places when there was actually nothing wrong with their mental health, all very sad. I've just read the blurb for Together by Julie Cohen, it sounds right up my street so it's another one to add to the list. Thank you.
DeleteThis sounds really interesting. I've always been intrigued by the old asylum system. Where I grew up, there was an old "mental hospital" that had been added onto over the decades, but the oldest parts remained and I found it both scary and fascinating to look at. Then they closed it down and it sat empty, which was scarier. But beyond that, the lives of the people inside interested me, especially the younger people who had not had a chance to live their lives very much before they were put in the hospital. It was sad, but if they needed the help, I'm glad they could get it, which is not so easy anymore now that places like this can't afford to stay open to help people.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird how places like these are often old, imposing buildings which are quite scary to look at and add to the fascination of what was going on inside. High Royds Hospital closed in 2003 and since then, hundreds of new houses have been built on the site. I believe the main imposing building is still there though and parts are Grade II listed. Some features of the hospital such as the clock tower and the ballroom have been retained. It is sad to think that people entered these institutions as young people and lived out their lives without knowing anything else and as you say, equally sad that so many people are unable to access the help they need these days.
DeleteI find it fascinating that you were able to determine that the hospital your grandfather was in was the same as that in the book. That probably bought an entirely different layer to your experience reading it. And what a beautiful building - the photos in the ballroom section were haunting.
ReplyDeleteThere were clues throughout the book as to the identity of the hospital, the whereabouts, nearby towns and the description gave the game away. I found the website that I've linked to fascinating, especially the photos of the ballroom which is what inspired the author to write this book.
DeleteI've not heard of this one before, but it sounds interesting. My nan's brother died in an asylum as a child. After his mother died, my great grandfather couldn't manage him any more. There was a bit of a to do when he died, because the asylum hadn't let my great grandfather know that the boy had been ill.
ReplyDeleteI found the book a little slow in places but the story builds gradually and I did enjoy it overall, it's had some really good reviews. How sad that your nan's brother died in an asylum, and only a child too. These places were very different from hospitals today, thank goodness.
DeleteI read The Ballroom a while ago and suggested it for my Reading Group.We had a brilliant discussion.I thought it was such an interesting book.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there's certainly plenty of aspects of the story which would provoke discussion. I thought that Charles was such an interesting character.
DeleteJo, I have bought and read Anna Hope's previous novel, Wake, which I absolutely loved. I had heard of this book, but I simply didn't want to read about an asylum.
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
I'm glad you enjoyed the author's first novel, I've put it on my list of books to read now that I've read The Ballroom. It was while she was researching Wake that Anna Hope came across information about her great-great-grandfather being in the asylum at the time of the census and whilst looking further into the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum came across photos of the ballroom which led her to write this second novel. I can understand the subject matter not being everyone's cup of tea, we all have different opinions, especially when it comes to books.
DeleteThat has completely hooked me, I shall start looking for a copy as it sounds fascinating. So many people had their lives stolen from them and lived in asylums who should never have been there, I’m looking forward to reading it xx
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it if you do decide to read it. I think the underlying feeling that I had whilst reading the book is that these things really happened, people who weren't suffering from any sort of mental illness found themselves in institutions and they were unable to do anything about it. Very sad.
DeleteGood review, thank you, sounds an awful place to have been left in especially through no fault of their own xcx
ReplyDeleteIt's terribly sad how people ended up in institutions in days gone by. I think the name West Yorkshire Pauper Lunatic Asylum is such an awful name.
DeleteMe too!!!! I love to collect titles of possible books to read!!!
ReplyDelete"the heatwave summer of 1911" Oh my, everything old, is new again...
But sigh.... I don't think I could handle the plot. Yes, I'm a wimp. Many books, are just to sad for me to read.
But I'm so happy that you enjoyed it. I'm sure it was absorbing.
Please do keep sharing possible reading suggestions.
The heatwave of summer 1911 struck a chord with me too, I was living the story as I read it. I don't mind reading sad books but I know lots of people avoid them.
DeleteI've heard of this before - dances and orchestras in asylums for the mentally ill. Institutions do cast up extraordinary contradictions.
ReplyDeleteIt's something I'd never heard of before. The website I link to is fascinating, a really interesting read.
DeleteMany thanks for your review Jo, always interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if this book would be, for me … but I appreciated the links you gave to the hospital and ballroom.
Amazing that it was the hospital your grandfather was in.
All the best Jan
My suspicions about the asylum being based on the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum grew as I read through the book, there were little things mentioned, and then it was confirmed in the author's notes at the end. I'm glad that we understand mental illness better these days.
DeleteI can imagine how poignant it was for you when you released the family connection. It's utterly horrendous knowing how people where committed and treated back then, not that sure much has changed re mental health issues, treatment is still in the dark ages. I will look out for this book and think of you when I read it.xxx
ReplyDeleteI always find books more interesting if there's a connection. It's very sad to think of people being committed to institutions and what they had to endure.
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