Grace shook her head at his words, glancing down as she put the folded letters in her pocket to see a note scratched on the back of Falsteed’s.
One more word, if I may. The original meaning of the word asylum is, in fact, “protection.” I hope you have found it to be so in your bright surroundings, as I have found my own niche here in the dark.
Grace leaned against the railing, her gaze taking in the rolling grounds, Elizabeth’s silhouette by the lake, Thornhollow’s carriage rolling to a stop in the roundabout, and Nell’s empty chair beside her.
“Indeed I have,” she said, her scars flashing brightly in the sun. “I am Grace Mae, and I have come home.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The history of insane asylum medicine is not pretty. Even the well-intentioned sometimes caused great harm through ignorance, and in the worst cases, harm was caused for the sake of harm.
That being said, if a person was unfortunate enough to be declared insane in the 1800s, there were plenty of institutions that treated their patients with respect. The Athens Lunatic Asylum in southeast Ohio was one such place and is the basis for the asylum where Grace and Thornhollow live.
This asylum—popularly called the Ridges—gets a lot of unwanted attention for its supposedly paranormal aspects and not enough credit for its original intentions. Now it is owned by Ohio University and used as both art gallery and office space. You can visit the asylum today and see the original woodwork, staircases, and mosaic floors by touring the Kennedy Museum of Art, located in Lin Hall.
Although the patient wards are off limits to the public due to the major renovations necessary to keep the building safe, a walking tour of the outside of the asylum is sometimes offered through the Athens County Historical Society. You can visit their site at www.athenshistory.org for more information. If you’re interested in learning more about the asylum Grace calls home, definitely check out Asylum on the Hill: History of a Healing Landscape by Katherine Ziff.
Like so many things, truth can be stranger than fiction. Nell’s alligator was indeed quite real, although I adjusted his time period a bit. You can see pictures of the affectionately named Jim Crocky at http://media.library.ohiou.edu/cdm/ref/collection/archives/id/867.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Bringing this novel together took me to some dark places emotionally, mentally, and even physically. There were a lot of people who followed me there—sometimes in all three ways.
First, thanks needs to go to my acquiring editor, Sarah Shumway, who saw the potential in a dark piece and encouraged me to go with my gut. On the heels of that, I need to thank my new editor, Ben Rosenthal, who dove right into my darkness without flinching. I also must thank my amazing agent, Adriann Ranta, who had the experience of fielding an unscheduled phone call from me for the first time on this one. I believe she’s still recovering.
Everything I produce goes through practiced authors before I put it before anyone else. For this one, I owe R. C. Lewis, Kate Karyus Quinn, Lydia Kang, Megan Shepherd, and Demitria Lunetta, who all responded to a somewhat panicked and time-sensitive email from me, complete with a weighty attachment.
Lastly, I need to thank people who spend time with me in real life, and sometimes suffer for it. First to my college pals, Amanda, Mel, Erin, and Debbie, who listened to a rambling diatribe about lobotomies on our way to see the Royal Shakespeare Company. I also need to include the people who deal with me on a daily basis—whether it’s a good day or a bad one.
And finally, thanks to my family and boyfriend, who understand that a writing cave is a solitary place and love me anyway.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo credit www.amyparrishfineart.com
MINDY MCGINNIS is the author of Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust and is an assistant YA librarian who lives in Ohio. She graduated from Otterbein University magna cum laude with a BA in English literature and religion. Mindy has visited historic insane asylums, but they let her leave. You can visit her online at www.mindymcginnis.com.
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BOOKS BY MINDY MCGINNIS
In a Handful of Dust
Not a Drop to Drink
A Madness So Discreet
CREDITS
Cover art © 2015 by Brooke Shaden
Cover design by Erin Fitzsimmons
COPYRIGHT
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
A MADNESS SO DISCREET. Copyright © 2015 by Mindy McGinnis. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.epicreads.com
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McGinnis, Mindy.
A madness so discreet / Mindy McGinnis. — First edition.
pages cm
Summary: Near the turn of the nineteenth century, Dr. Thornhollow helps teenaged Grace Mae escape from the Boston asylum where she was sent after becoming pregnant by rape, and takes her to Ohio, where they put her intelligence and remarkable memory to use in trying to catch murderers.
ISBN 978-0-06-232086-5 (hardcover)
EPub Edition © September 2015 ISBN 9780062320889
[1. Criminal investigation—Fiction. 2. Physicians—Fiction. 3. Ohio—History—19th century—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.M4784747Mad 2015 2014041255
[Fic]—dc23 CIP
AC
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15 16 17 18 19 PC/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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