Name: Ravana Eagleheart's review of The Mad Women's Ball by Victoria Mas
Item: The Mad Women's Ball
Rating: 4
Author: Ravana Eagleheart

Victoria Mas

A literary historical novel detailing the horrors faced by institutionalized women in 19th century Paris--soon to be a major film with Amazon Studios The Salpetriere 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 Madwomen's Ball--when the great and good come to gawk at the patients of the Salpetriere 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 Eugenie--the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family that has locked her away in the asylum. Because Eugenie has a secret: she sees spirits. Inspired by the scandalous, banned work that all of Paris is talking about, The Book of Spirits, Eugenie 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 . . .

A Novel

The Mad Women's Ball

'A darkly sumptuous tale of wicked spectacle, wild injustice and the insuppressible strength of women' EMMA STONEX, author of THE LAMPLIGHTERS 'In this darkly delightful Gothic treasure, Mas explores grief, trauma and sisterhood behind the walls of Paris' infamous Salpetriere hospital' PAULA HAWKINS, author of A SLOW FIRE BURNING 'A beautifully written debut...I have absolutely no doubt it will be one of my favourite novels of 2021.' AJ PEARCE, author of DEAR MRS BIRD The Salpêtrière asylum, 1885. All of Paris is in thrall to Doctor Charcot and his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad or hysterical, outcasts from society. But the truth is much more complicated - for these women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives or strong-willed daughters. Once a year a grand ball is held at the hospital. For the Parisian elite, the Mad Women's Ball is the highlight of the social season; for the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope. Geneviève is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister, she has shunned religion and placed her faith in Doctor Charcot and his new science. But everything begins to change when she meets Eugénie, the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family. Because Eugénie has a secret, and she needs Geneviève's help. Their fates will collide on the night of the Mad Women's Ball... 'Essential reading' COSMOPOLITAN 'A deftly woven tale of hope and pain, judgement and redemption, cruelty and kindness. Utterly captivating and profoundly affecting.' Sunday Times bestseller, MIRANDA DICKENSON 'Enter the dance of this little masterpiece and let yourself be dazzled. Assured of hitting the bestseller lists' THE PARISIAN 'A lovely, moving first novel, a cri de coeur against the condition of women in this world' MARIE FRANCE 'The Mad Women's Ball is as lush on the inside as it is on the outside! It's richly immersive, taking us right into the heart of nineteenth-century Paris.' SHELLEY HARRIS, author of the Sunday Times bestseller JUBILEE

The Prize-Winning French Bestseller

Stas

I still go to church. Not to mass, obviously. I go alone. When the chapels are empty. I do not pray. I am not certain that I have found God. Nor do I know whether that will happen one day. But I have found you. And that is all that matters to me.

Revna

Truth be told, whether free or incarcerated, women were not safe anywhere. Since the dawn of time, they had been the victims of decisions that were taken without their consent.

She has never been convinced by Christian doctrine; she does not deny the possibility of a God, but has preferred to believe in herself rather than some abstract entity.

Ravana Eagleheart

She has never been convinced by Christian doctrine; she does not deny the possibility of a god, but has preferred to believe in herself rather than in some abstract entity.

Leslee Montgomery

Seher Mohsin

I wrote this review already and I don't remember what I put in it so...bare with me.

I did love this book, but I feel like it could've been at least twice as long. 

Loooved the setting, I felt like I was walking through the halls with them. Loved loved loved all the women, and their stories, but I think this is the main part where I think the book should be longer, I wanted to know the women better. Also I hated the men, as expected. 

OH and shoutout Theo, loved the reflection he went through!

Anyways, I feel like the end could be very hit or miss for people, and it def could break the book. I think what I loved about the book is how realistic it was (I say this knowing a main part of it is talking to ghosts but...). The asylum is a real hospital, the doctor was real, Louise was a real person, and the book really made me want to know more about them. What happens to Louise at the end of the book is horribly upsetting, and unfortunately very realistic for how they were treated in these hospitals. Also, the escape...while it may seem very simple, Eugienie dresses up in mens clothing and disappears out the gate, I do appreciate this ending, but possibly mostly because I was googling all these people while reading, and found out the real life Louise escaped the hospital by dressing up in mens clothing and disappearing...

I must also say I have always been a huge sucker for anything about the history of psychology and their treatments, and how they were operating in these hospitals (your (least) fav psych people were watching real life Louise be "hypnotized"), so there might be a bit of bias here...and also Stef hated the book, so take my rating with a whole bunch of spoons of salt

I wrote this review already and I don't remember what I put in it so...bare with me.

I did love this book, but I feel like it could've been at least twice as long. 
Loooved the setting, I felt like I was walking through the halls with them. Loved loved loved all the women, and their stories, but I think this is the main part where I think the book should be longer, I wanted to know the women better. Also I hated the men, as expected. 

OH and shoutout Theo, loved the reflection he went through!

Anyways, I feel like the end could be very hit or miss for people, and it def could break the book. I think what I loved about the book is how realistic it was (I say this knowing a main part of it is talking to ghosts but...). The asylum is a real hospital, the doctor was real, Louise was a real person, and the book really made me want to know more about them. What happens to Louise at the end of the book is horribly upsetting, and unfortunately very realistic for how they were treated in these hospitals. Also, the escape...while it may seem very simple, Eugienie dresses up in mens clothing and disappears out the gate, I do appreciate this ending, but possibly mostly because I was googling all these people while reading, and found out the real life Louise escaped the hospital by dressing up in mens clothing and disappearing...

I must also say I have always been a huge sucker for anything about the history of psychology and their treatments, and how they were operating in these hospitals (your (least) fav psych people were watching real life Louise be "hypnotized"), so there might be a bit of bias here...and also Stef hated the book, so take my rating with a whole bunch of spoons of salt

Alexandra Stanbrook

I was so excited to read this as it has won awards and sounded really interesting. However, it left me wanting more. It's a 200 page book that I feel like just got exciting at the end and it should've been a 300 page book. It left me wanting more. More history, more of the story of each character, just more.

If you wanna read a fast paced book about the female role in the 1800s, this is the book for you.

Karo

A wonderful reminder of why I'm glad to be alive in the 21st century. Enraged at all the injustice & patronizing attitudes toward the female gender - some of which continue to present day. Saddened by the arrogance & ineptitude of medical "profesionals" - also problematic today. However it is a shining example of how women endure no matter what life & assholes throw at them.

Denise B.

Gaja N

I really enjoyed this, brilliantly written and a good short read

CW for SA & violence against women - it's not laid on thickly or unnecessarily but mentioned when needed for context in the plot

I really enjoyed this, brilliantly written and a good short read

CW for SA & violence against women - it's not laid on thickly or unnecessarily but mentioned when needed for context in the plot



jenn kause

If I could give this book 100 stars I would. I found such fascination with this subject and it was an amazing, heartfelt read. 
There’s something poetic about the way Mas writes, even if maybe some of the fantasy is lost in translation; it’s still beautiful. There’s very few areas where the translation seems a bit off but otherwise it’s a beautiful story that flows almost as if it were prose.
The women in this book are a force to be reckoned with, and even though there is some tragedy, there’s also happiness. 
This book is fiction but brings to light the past of mental institutions and treatment towards women, and what these places meant in variety of ways to them.
Extremely well done and one of my favorite reads this year!!

this book was okay. it was slightly boring

Tanya Sutton

This book could have been so much better. I would love to see this topic handled by a better writer. 

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Mad Woman's Ball

Author: Victoria Mas

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For...: Historical Fiction, thriller

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publication Date: September 7, 2021

Publisher: The Overlook Press

Pages: 224

Recommended Age: 18+ (sexual assualt TW, suicide attempt, forced institutionalization, Abelism, misogyny, grief, death, violence, gore)

Explanation of CWs: Forced institutionalization, sexual assualt, and suicide are graphically shown. There are abelist comments. Grief and death frequent.

Synopsis: The Salpetriere 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 Madwomen’s Ball—when the great and good come to gawk at the patients of the Salpetriere 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 Eugenie—the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family that has locked her away in the asylum. Because Eugenie has a secret: she sees spirits. Inspired by the scandalous, banned work that all of Paris is talking about, The Book of Spirits, Eugenie 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 . . .

Review: For the most part I enjoyed this read. It was informative and it gave me a lot of insight into asylums and how they were run. The book did well with the world building and atmosphere, it was positively creepy and terrifying.

However, I did feel like the character development was a bit lacking and I couldn't connect with a few of the characters. I also felt like the beginning was slow and the plot twist/device was obvious and gave away the ending.

Verdict: It was good, just predictable.

Ravana Eagleheart &
The Mad Women's Ball by Victoria Mas

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Ravana Eagleheart &The Mad Women's Ball by Victoria Mas

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Ravana Eagleheart &
The Mad Women's Ball by Victoria Mas