A Plea for the Insane by Lionel Weatherly

Abstract

In A Plea for the Insane (1918), Lionel Weatherly outlined the inadequacies of the Lunacy Act 1890 and of asylum care in England and Wales, and proposed solutions and ways to bring about improvements. It took courage to persist, but Weatherly was undeterred by controversy or criticism. This article reflects on his book and its context and timing at the end of the First World War, and considers whether we may be inspired to confront current healthcare crises with the same sort of passion and fervour as he did.