General overviews of the field are a great place to start if you want to

learn more about the fascinating past of psychiatry. But it's important

to remember that these overviews will always show the writers' own points

of view. Daniel Hack Tuke's "Chapters in the History of the Insane in the

British Isles" is one of the oldest books on the subject and has a lot to teach

us. This book came out in 1882. It was written by Tuke, who used to be the

editor of the Journal of Mental Science, which was called the British Journal of

Psychiatry in the 1800s. Within its pages, Tuke tells the story of how psychology

has changed over time, from its beginnings at Bethlem to the founding of

the York Retreat. He also talks about the strategy of not putting people in

restraints at the Lincoln and Hanwell asylums. Tuke's conclusion sums up the

change from the roughness and darkness of the old system to the "sweetness and

light" (p. 495) of the new system's creed."