Mad Mary Lamb

by Susan Tyler Hitchcock

Mary Lamb--a dutiful daughter, well liked by just about everyone--killed her own mother with a carving knife. She spent the rest of her life in and out of madhouses, yet the crime and its aftermath opened up a new life that no woman of her time or class could have expected. Freed to read extensively, she discovered her talent for writing and, with her brother, the essayist Charles Lamb, collaborated on the famous Tales from Shakespeare. Confidante to many of Britain's romantics, including Coleridge, Godwin and Wordsworth, Mary Lamb stood at the vibrant center of a colorful literary circle. This narrative of a nearly forgotten woman is a tapestry of insights into creativity and madness, the changing lives of women, and the redemptive power of the written word.--From publisher description.