Enter the terrifying asylum on Blackwell Island in 1887 along with Edyth Foster, who struggles to maintain her sanity in a place that drains the life from its residents.
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Enter the terrifying asylum on Blackwell Island in 1887 along with Edyth Foster, who struggles to maintain her sanity in a place that drains the life from its residents.
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Add this copy of The Gray Chamber (True Colors) to cart. $1.17, new condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Barbour Books.
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Add this copy of The Gray Chamber (True Colors) to cart. $3.24, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Barbour Books.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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I've seriously been getting into the True Colors series and The Gray Chamber was no exception. Grace Hitchcock's second offering in the series was exciting, romantic, and creepy. Really, did you think you could have a book partially set in the women's lunatic asylum on Blackwell Island and not have some creep factor going on?
One of the most shocking things about the 1800s is just how little it took for a woman to be committed to a mental asylum. No joke, more than one woman was committed for reading novels. Good thing I didn't live back then! Journalist Nellie Bly went undercover as patient at Blackwell Island and big changes were made at the facility because of her testimony as to what went on. My school history book mentioned Nellie Bly's work, but, as so often happens with fiction, The Gray Chamber really brought the whole dark business home.
Grace Hitchcock has a winner in The Gray Chamber. I very much enjoyed reading it, from the quirky antics of the heroine to the danger in the asylum to the final showdown with the villain. If you are into historical fiction based on real history you should check out this book from Grace Hitchcock, as well as the rest of the books in the True Colors series...
(I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions are entirely my own.)
Tena Kay
Jan 1, 2020
Simply Terrifying but true
The Gray Chamber by Grace Hitchcock
Barbour Publishing
Jan 1, 2020
ISBN: 1643522353
Pages: 256
Jan 1, 2020
Reviewed by: mrsboone4
Rating: ?????
The Gray Chamber is about the poor, helpless women who end up trapped on Blackwell Island, New York, at the Lunatic Asylum. It is the true story of Edythe, an heiress, who has many unorthodox pastimes, like Fencing and Velocipede riding. Her uncle is the caretaker of her fortune, until she turns 25 or is married. Her aunt is bound and determined to get rid of Edythe, because they want all the advantages that Edythe's money will bring them.
They have Edythe condemned to Blackwell Island's Mental Hospital in New York, a few days before she turns 25. Her fencing instructor has just realized that he loves her and does not give up hope, that Edythe will be found. Edythe has a very difficult time blending into the population of Blackwell's Island, especially since she has been given or allowed every opportunity to develop her own interests.
Edythe meets a couple of young women in the asylum; journalist Nellie Bly who is there undercover to report of the treatment of the inmates and the reasons that they are imprisoned. She befriends another young girl, who does have some mental issues, but Edythe finds out, that no one deserves the treatment they are subjected to every day, on the island.
Edythe does eventually, with many, many people helping her to escape from the island. It is very sad, how very little it takes for women to become inmates. When Edythe's life is straightened out and she is securely married, she puts time and money back into the island, to make the lives better and much more tolerable for the women and men who live there.
The Gray Chamber is a foreboding room on the island. It's said, that once you go into that room, you never return, because the doctors and nurses steal your memories.
Well worth the read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
Claudia
Jan 1, 2020
A 5 Star Read
The Gray Chamber is Grace Hitchcock's second contribution to Barbour Publishing's True Colors series. The fictional novels are based on true crimes in America's history. The Gray Chamber is based on the atrocities that took place in New York's Asylum for Women on Blackwell's Island. Nellie Bly's articles published first in the New York World's newspaper, and then in the book Ten Days in a Mad-House, were an integral part of Hitchcock's research.
Edyth Foster, a fictional character, was wrongly committed to the asylum on Blackwell's Island. Her eccentricities made passing her off as mad much easier. Will the perseverance of her long-time friend Raoul Banebridge be enough to gain Edyth her freedom? Readers will enjoy the thrill of the rise and fall of emotions as they follow Edyth's travail.
I am grateful to have received a copy of The Gray Chamber from Barbour Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review, and received no monetary compensation. It is a five star read that I am happy to recommend.
