INSIDE ...

• The Professor and the Madman
• About the Psyche
• Information for Contributors

The non-fiction work, The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester, may at first seem a dull lesson in literary history. However, this book illuminates not only the development of arguably the most important reference book in our language, but also the treatment of the criminally insane in late nineteenth century England. The character of greatest interest, Dr. William Minor, was one of many thousands of volunteers to contribute to the Oxford English Dictionary, which was officially started in 1879 and was not completed until 1927. The unusual aspect of this story is how he arrived at this endeavor.

Trained at Yale, Minor served as a surgeon for the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. During his service he was made to discipline a deserter by branding his cheek with the letter "D." Within the year following this event, Minor began to illegally carry a revolver, believing that he was being followed by townspeople and cohorts of the deserter. He also became sexually promiscuous and believed that his fellow soldiers were whispering about him and plotting against him. In 1868, another Army surgeon stated that the thirty-four year old Minor was suffering from "monomania" and was delusional. As his condition quickly became more serious, involving suicidal and homicidal ideations, Minor agreed to be placed in the Government Hospital for the Insane in Washington D.C.

In October of 1871, Dr. Minor was released from the Asylum and went to London. He lived uneventfully for a short while in a seedy area of town, but his old troubles soon haunted him again. In February of 1872, Minor shot a man to death in the street. Minor believed this man was one of the "people that had been following me" recently. The doctor was dismayed to find that he had mistakenly shot this man who was not one of his imagined persecutors.

Minor was found by the British courts to be insane and was sentenced to the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem, (from which we derive the word "bedlam" meaning a madhouse). Despite his crime, as a man of good background, Minor was treated well and allowed to entertain himself as he wished with literature, art work and music. The doctor was allowed to have many of his personal affects sent from America to make his cell comfortable. However, Minor continued to be plagued by paranoid delusions and believed that his body was being tampered with while he slept.

In the early 1880’s Dr. Minor encountered a flyer in a book placed by the editor of the future Oxford English Dictionary. As a lover of words, Minor responded to the call with great alacrity. Sending in entries to the upcoming dictionary proved to be somewhat of a "calling" for Dr. Minor as he was regarded by the dictionary staff as a great contributor. The editor kept in close correspondence with Minor for many years without knowing the implication of Minor’s return address. The editor believed Dr. Minor might be a retired physician writing from a country cottage.

After seventeen years the editor wrote to Minor requesting to visit him, and Minor responded enthusiastically. The editor arrived at the Asylum thinking it was an old farm mansion. It was not until he mistakenly addressed the superintendent as "Dr. Minor" that he was informed of his location. Undaunted, the editor visited with Minor and continued to correspond with him regularly. In spite of his discovered condition, Dr. Minor’s contributions were still well received.

In spite of the distraction provided by his work, Minor’s condition only worsened over the years. He continued to believe that he was being molested in his sleep and his delusions even advanced with technology, including the use of airplanes shortly after their advent. In 1910, after thirty-seven years of incarceration, Minor was allowed to return to America so that he might be close to his family, with the stipulation that he be placed back in the Government asylum he had been in previously.

The final diagnosis given for Dr. Minor in 1918 was "Dementia Praecox of the paranoid form." Today we would likely call this condition Paranoid Schizophrenia.

This book did not give an indication of any pharmaceutical treatment that Minor may have received, but it could be argued that he was allowed to experience a therapeutic milieu.

This book gave interesting insight into the treatment of the criminally insane in Victorian England. But the progression of disease and life of a man with both great intellectual potential and schizophrenia adds a point of interest that is not to be forgotten.

Book summary by Janet M. Dunn, MS-V, UMKC

Audience: The Psyche is primarily for all in the health professions: researchers, practitioners, educators, administrators, and students. Health professionals include physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and other allied health professionals in the research and health care delivery systems.

Scope and coverage: The Psyche contains articles predominantly on core biomedical subjects. It is essentially a review journal. Review journals contain the current state of knowledge or practice, integrating recent advances with accepted principles and practice, or summarizing and analyzing the consensus view of controversial issues in knowledge or practice. Review journals provide background information for practitioners and researchers, students and house officers, and others who wish an overview on the current status of a field.

Quality of content: The scientific merit, the validity, importance, originality, and contribution to the coverage of the field of the overall contents of each title are the key factors that are considered.

Quality of editorial work: The Psyche strives to demonstrate features that contribute to the objectivity, credibility, and quality of the contents. Methods of selecting articles, especially on the explicit process of external peer review; statements indicating adherence to ethical guidelines; evidence that authors have disclosed financial conflicts of interest; timely correction of errata; explicit responsible retractions as appropriate; and opportunity for comments and dissenting opinion are the building blocks in forming each issue. Neither the advertising content nor commercial sponsorship should raise questions about the objectivity of the published material. Any contribution made for The Psyche needs to be written to and will be administered by the Friends of Psychiatry Foundation (Tax ID# 43-155-4307, at 600 E 22nd Street, Kansas City, MO 64108) for the publication, distribution of, and for making necessary improvements on this newsletter only. Sponsorship by national or international professional societies may be considered by the editorial board.

Production quality: The quality of the layout, printing, graphics, and illustrations are all considered essential in making this a high-quality publication.

Types of content: Journals whose contents consist of one or more of the following types of information will be considered for publishing in The Psyche:

1. Brief reports of original research, devoted to reporting original investigations in the biomedical and health sciences, including research in the basic sciences; clinical trials of therapeutic agents; effectiveness of diagnostic or therapeutic techniques; studies relating to the behavioral, epidemiological, or educational aspects of medicine and other significant publications;

2. Original clinical observations accompanied by condensed analysis and discussion;

3. Analysis of philosophical, ethical, or social aspects of the health professions or biomedical sciences;

4. Clinical or practice journal article reviews as they have as their dominant purpose documenting the state of current practice, providing background for those in training, or the continuing education of practitioners. This is done through the publication of case reports, discussions and illustrations of new techniques, evaluations of current practices, and commentaries.

Editor, The Psyche

Please type a summary of your choice (e.g. an informative article, research paper, clinical presentation, a book, a meeting or a presentation you have attended ) using a computer and save it in Microsoft ® Word, Works or Word-perfect format on a 3 and 1/2 inch High Density diskette. Use a 12 point "Times New Roman" font, spell-check and indicate the word count. Please follow the guidelines specified on page eight of Vol. 3, issue 8 under the topic, "About The Psyche."