Bibliograph

A history of delusions, the glass king, a substitute husband and a walking corpse, Victoria Shepherd

Type

Label

A history of delusions, the glass king, a substitute husband and a walking corpse, Victoria Shepherd

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 309-312) and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

A history of delusions

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1255175749

Responsibility statement

Victoria Shepherd

Sub title

the glass king, a substitute husband and a walking corpse

Summary

Why would someone wake up and claim they're Napoleon? Or believe they have been turned into a wolf and demand to be fed raw meat? For centuries, we've dismissed delusions as a problem for the shrinks to sort out in distant asylums. But delusions are more than just bizarre case studies - they tell stories of collective anxieties and traumas. In this groundbreaking history, Victoria Shepherd explores delusions from ancient times to present and implores us to identify reason in apparent madness. Isn't it perfectly understandable to believe you've got the wrong head when the guillotine takes the heads of hundreds every day? Who cannot sympathise with the man who believes he is already dead, when all his comrades died in the battlefields? We all have it in us to become delusional. In understanding delusions, we come closer to understanding ourselves

Classification