This collection investigates the evolution of the lunatic asylum and the practice of confining individuals deemed insane across various nations from 1800 to 1965. The book features extensive primary research from leading medical historians, presenting individual case studies within the legal, social, economic, and political frameworks of thirteen distinct countries. It aims to provide the first comprehensive international history of the mental hospital, offering a significant comparative analysis in the history of medicine.

This work is presented as a landmark comparative study, offering the first truly international history of the mental hospital. The contributions from leading scholars in medical history, based on extensive primary research, suggest a rigorous and detailed examination of the subject. The book's scope, covering thirteen countries over more than a century, indicates a comprehensive approach to understanding the historical evolution of psychiatric confinement.