Inside Broadmoor (2019) By Jonathan Levi & Emma French

Review by Ridley Coote

"Broadmoor will never finish, Broadmoor is here forever."

No mental health institution, nor prison for that matter, has struck such fascination and intrigue as the iconic and infamous Broadmoor Hospital.

This book details a wide array of events, scandals, developments and more from the institution's history. Coauthors Jonathon Levi and Emma French delve into the well-meaning, if at times morbid, pa's, present and probable future of Broadmoor; managing to dispell, as well as reinforce, the chilling mystique of the institution.

I, like many before me, am captivated by the high security hospital, thanks in no small measure to its list of truly intriguing and troubled patients. The book also taught me a myriad of truths about not only the hospital, but those inside, those who have influenced it and the manner in which it, along with other similar institutions, have been run and have changed over the decades.

The authors were not sensationalist, but rather informative and honest. Even the occasional personal remark that slipped in seemed more as an observation than a dictated "truth" - something I greatly appreciated.

There are, of course, some horrific and intensely uncomfortable paragraphs to read, detailing some of the horrors committed by patients both before and during their stays. That said, I truly believe the inclusions of these events are used to build upon the chapter each one is placed within, instead of trying to horrify and sensationalise.

I also appreciated the effort made to humanise many if the patients, with the only referrals to any of the mentally ill patients as "evil" being via quotes, and only in specific mention of one patient at a different institution.

Overall, I found this to be an engrossing and surreal read. Each chapter made me feel as though I had learned a little more and was a little closer to understanding what I am sure is just the tip of the iceberg that is Broadmoor Hospital.