Genre Fiction
![Victoria Mas - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_victoria_mas.jpg)
Mad Women's Ball: A Novel
Soon to be a major film from Amazon Studios, the prizewinning French bestseller
"In this darkly delightful Gothic treasure, Mas explores grief, trauma, and sisterhood behind the walls of Paris's infamous Salpêtrière hospital."
-Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
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 . . .
"In this darkly delightful Gothic treasure, Mas explores grief, trauma, and sisterhood behind the walls of Paris's infamous Salpêtrière hospital."
-Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
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 . . .
Editorial Reviews
"A brooding psychodrama...with [a] cinematic, increasingly Gothic aura" ―The New York Times Book Review
"Mas elegantly blends feminist history and spiritualism, and poignantly demonstrates how the hospital is both prison and refuge for its residents, as Geneviève simultaneously grows disillusioned and empowered. Mas's dark tale will have readers transfixed."
―Publishers Weekly
"electrifying...The Mad Women's Ball is a magnetic historical novel."
―Foreword Reviews, *starred* review
"In this darkly delightful Gothic treasure, Mas explores grief, trauma, and sisterhood behind the walls of Paris's infamous Salpêtrière hospital." ―Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
"The Mad Women's Ball is a fast-paced read that grabs you from the start. You can finish it in a matter of days or draw it out over time, but the impact it leaves will be felt long after you've closed the book. Victoria Mas has delivered a powerful story about a group of women being brave in the face of adversity, and it's a tale that rings particularly true today."
―Fansided
"Potent and wicked ... a darkly entertaining piece of revisionist feminism"―Chicago Review of Books
"In her excellent gothic-inspired thriller, the Sorbonne-educated Victoria Mas comments on a society bent on molding women into an ‘acceptable,' compliant form. An underlying theme of spiritualism heightens the intrigue while the well-researched historical details paint a rich atmosphere. I enjoyed this read very much."
―Mystery Scene Magazine
"This short first novel by French writer Mas highlights the plight of powerless women and is set in an interesting era in which the burgeoning sciences of psychiatry and neurology exist uneasily alongside spiritualism."
―Booklist
"[A] deeply humane, well-researched thriller...This harrowing historical novel...is short but powerful, speaking not only to how women have been inhumanely treated since time immemorial simply for being true to themselves or inconvenient to others but also to how uncomfortably close we as a society still are to the sort of backward thinking that denies a woman her right...
"Mas elegantly blends feminist history and spiritualism, and poignantly demonstrates how the hospital is both prison and refuge for its residents, as Geneviève simultaneously grows disillusioned and empowered. Mas's dark tale will have readers transfixed."
―Publishers Weekly
"electrifying...The Mad Women's Ball is a magnetic historical novel."
―Foreword Reviews, *starred* review
"In this darkly delightful Gothic treasure, Mas explores grief, trauma, and sisterhood behind the walls of Paris's infamous Salpêtrière hospital." ―Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
"The Mad Women's Ball is a fast-paced read that grabs you from the start. You can finish it in a matter of days or draw it out over time, but the impact it leaves will be felt long after you've closed the book. Victoria Mas has delivered a powerful story about a group of women being brave in the face of adversity, and it's a tale that rings particularly true today."
―Fansided
"Potent and wicked ... a darkly entertaining piece of revisionist feminism"―Chicago Review of Books
"In her excellent gothic-inspired thriller, the Sorbonne-educated Victoria Mas comments on a society bent on molding women into an ‘acceptable,' compliant form. An underlying theme of spiritualism heightens the intrigue while the well-researched historical details paint a rich atmosphere. I enjoyed this read very much."
―Mystery Scene Magazine
"This short first novel by French writer Mas highlights the plight of powerless women and is set in an interesting era in which the burgeoning sciences of psychiatry and neurology exist uneasily alongside spiritualism."
―Booklist
"[A] deeply humane, well-researched thriller...This harrowing historical novel...is short but powerful, speaking not only to how women have been inhumanely treated since time immemorial simply for being true to themselves or inconvenient to others but also to how uncomfortably close we as a society still are to the sort of backward thinking that denies a woman her right...
Readers Top Reviews
M. DowdenRosajoTh
I am sorry, but I cannot see how this has become such a huge success, or why it is critically acclaimed, and one has to ask oneself if it has something to do with who the author’s mother is. The story is okay as such, but hardly something that grips you and will not let go, instead I was left scratching my head trying to decide what the author was trying to accomplish. The problem is that this wants to be some sort of feminist novel, whilst also at the same time being a thriller, and it fails on making the most of its material on both counts. Here then we meet a young lady, Eugénie who is suddenly incarcerated in Pitié-Salpêtrière because she has seen a ghost and can communicate with it. Hardly something that is likely to lead to being committed because of the social stigma attached to being an inpatient from a bourgeois family. We also meet Geneviève, a matron on the ward where Eugénie is placed. With our new patient being able to reveal to the matron that she can see her dead sister, so it is not long before a plan is hatched. Despite holding a senior position on the hospital staff Geneviève seems to be able to rush off from her duties, with no repercussions mentioned. The plan that is hatched to give Eugénie her freedom, does in one way mirror that of the escape of Dr Charcot’s most famous patient known as just Augustine (Louise Augustine Gleizes), who as we read here had escaped at an earlier date. Taking in medicine and how it was practised at the time, there are much better books about such in this period, which was the Belle Époque and such treatment and the practice of displaying patients. In all then we know about how women have been mistreated over the centuries, but with a setting such as this there is no mention of the men who were also treated in an asylum, and Charcot never admitted to being a psychiatrist instead claiming what he was, a neurologist. The characters could have been better fleshed out as could the surroundings, and this all just comes across as something that is rather mundane, and has been done before, with different settings and other elements, and that are much better reads. I got the general feeling that this was a cut price imitation of Laura Purcell and others, rather than an original and intelligent novel. This novel has no depth, is not original or exciting in any way, and just comes across as a rather mundane beach read.
CheckLitOutEmM. D
“Dreams are dangerous things...especially when they depend on someone else.” Dark, compelling and intriguing...I found myself absorbed in this shocking read. The book has been beautifully translated into English and it sensitively deals with mental health illnesses, along with being perceived as difficult (opinionated), different or deranged. Set in the 1800’s, Eugenie, a 19 year old young woman, finds herself institutionalised in an asylum where women were experimented on through hypnosis. Her father, having deemed her to be deranged, delivers her to the facility, with the help of her brother, right before the ball is to happen. Inside the asylum, we are introduced to an array of characters; each one being one that you can sympathise with. It’s truly horrifying to read about how men had that level of control and the fear that women must have constantly lived in is truly abhorrent. Whilst in the asylum, Eugenie is greeted with a nurse, Genevieve, the daughter of a doctor. She has dedicated her life to the advancement of medicine and her need to help people. She is seen to be cold in her appearance and stature, by the ‘madwomen’, but there’s something that draws her to Eugenie and Eugenie to her (no spoilers here). In a world where there’s no escape, there’s only hopes and dreams to hold on to, but for many the institute has become a way of life forged out of routine, structure and fear. As a reader, we are left wondering what will happen to Eugenie. Will she survive the life she now has and what will happen if she become the next test subject of the doctor and his hypnosis. An hypnotising novel that is mysterious, dark and twisted that needs to be read (or consumed if you’re like me). I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it is well worth your time.
Colby Myers
Halfway through the book, I started coming across pages that were clearly from a different book meant for children. Not only were these extra pages included, but pages from the book I was trying to read were missing. So there were about 20 pages of a 200 page book that were simply not there. I had to guess what was happening in order to finish. Even if those pages were not missing, it still was not a good book. It was very simplistic and there was almost no character development or growth. I did not care about a single one of the characters even up to the last page. I was very surprised to learn that a movie was made out of this book when I finished it. Would not recommend to anyone. It sucks that I cant even give the book away because of the misprint.
KatieKari J. Co
At first I thought the odd pages interspersed in the book were purposeful and meant to show the madness. I turned the page and came upon a black and white drawing, a different font and what seemed to be a graphic novel. The rest of the book was that way, causing me to miss two or more pages each time in the actual novel. What a mess. Worse, I sent another copy to a dear friend who is very ill. This has been a complete waste of money. In all my years of reading, I’ve never come across an irregular printing this bad. I highly recommend NOT purchasing this until much later when the problem has been rectified.
Bookworm Russlynn
Great read. A short novel but had me feeling all sorts of emotions. Story is fictional but the setting really existed. Read this book before watching the movie and you will enjoy the movie more because you are privy to the characters inner thought which the movie cannot convey. Such a terrible fate for strong independent women under the thumb of a repressive male-dominated society. Simply label your wife or daughter as having “hysteria” and they are locked up never to trouble you again.
