| Book Review | Labour History, 96 | The History Cooperative

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BOOK REVIEW

*Lee-Ann Monk, Attending Madness: At Work in the Australian Colonial Asylum, Rodopi, Amsterdam, 2008. pp. 270. ?55.00 cloth.*
Lee-Ann Monk is currently an Australian Postdoctoral Fellow (Industry) at La Trobe University researching and writing the history of Kew Cottages. She has published several articles and a book chapter ('Gender, Space and Work: The Asylum as Gendered Workplace in Victoria') in 'Madness' in Australia: Histories, Heritage and the Asylum.	1
Attending Madness looks at asylums as workplaces, describing the occupation of the attendant in Victoria between 1848 and 1886. The book examines how this occupation evolved and tasks that attendants performed ranging from domestic work, chores to the personal hygiene of patients, as well as supervision and amusement. For many years, there were problems in recruiting experienced and dedicated attendants and this contributed to the poor way in which many institutions functioned. It was not until the cultural meaning of madness began to change that the role of the attendant became more fully acknowledged. The careful and considered skills needed in interacting with patients eventually become recognised as important in improving patient behaviour and the overall functioning of the institution.	2
Essentially, Monk explores 'who attendants were and why they chose this work in the context of a Colonial setting'. There are limited studies on the history of work related to lunatic asylums (particularly in Australia) and this historical work is grounded in archival material to interpret the evolution of the attendant in colonial Victoria. Monk is mindful of the history of insanity and of the lunatic asylum itself when interpreting the attendant. She explores conditions of employment and specific roles of the attendant by looking at their social background and skills that would benefit this work. The social and economic conditions in Victoria are discussed, as are the problems in recruiting intelligent and experienced attendants needed in providing good patient care. This was made even more difficult during the gold rush period.	. . .

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