In this non-fiction work, Foucault traces the history of thinking about madness from the Middle Ages through to Freud and points out how these old forms of thinking continue to impact upon how madness is seen and treated today. He particularly highlights how madness is tied to ideas of morality, religion, judgement and confinement.

This book started out wonderfully and for the first four chapters I followed along with delight. I particularly enjoyed his examination of portrayals of madness in art and literature. After that point, however, it becomes more heavily theoretical. The fact that it is heavily centred around French culture and thinkers also made it more difficult for me to follow along, since I was often unfamiliar with the particular works, examples and figures he referred to.

Nevertheless, for those interested in cultural theory and ideas of discourse and repression, it is definitely a thought-provoking read.