Sounds from the Bell Jar: Ten Psychotic Authors

Madness and creativity - are they related? Two literary scholars and a psychologist bring a unique blend of professional skills to bear on this question, first reviewing the contemporary scientific evidence and then examining in detail the lives and works of ten authors - dating from the Middle Ages to the 20th century - who, as judged here by the latest diagnostic techniques, demonstrably suffered from a psychotic illness. For its material the book draws extensively on the subjects' own written words to illustrate the intimate connection that existed between the authors' creative expression and what they felt and perceived as psychotic persons.