In nearly forty years of working in mental health, I have visited all kinds of secure hospitals in the UK. The big three, and most secure, are Broadmoor, Rampton and Ashworth. Unlike the many medium-or low secure units, the few high-security hospitals, not least Ashworth, have something in common: their forbidding, prisonlike appearance. The modern reception at Ashworth, for example, crouches beneath imposing cornicione-topped walls (think thick outer edge of a pizza). Secure facilities in the UK (high-, medium-, low-secure), even the more modern ones, struggle to achieve the kind of healing environment that we envisage in the word ‘hospital’. Treating people with serious mental health problems who pose a risk to the public occurs in places with essentially opposing cultures.
In private and NHS secure mental health facilities, the quality of environments can vary. Although we can find the kind of spirit of early pioneers in humane psychosocial care, this is not always the case. Furthermore, such environments, particularly those providing high-security services, may struggle to bridge comfortably between being both a hospital and a more obviously prisonlike facility.
In The Wonders of Doctor Bent, the worlds of Jason Hemp, an English lecturer, and Dr Bent, the unlikely Medical Director of high-security psychiatric hospital Foston Hall, come together in a dark tale of murder, revenge and abandonment. Attempting to track down his twin brother’s killer, Hemp finds his life unravelling in unexpected and frightening ways, whilst visionary Dr Bent attempts to reform Foston Hall into a place of comfort, making it less prisonlike, all while facing his own mental health challenges.
As one may expect, the imagined places, not least Foston Hall, and its staff and patients, are purely fictional, hallucinatory inventions. Yet even with this careful separation between reality and fiction, I have been concerned given my role as Professor of Health Humanities at the Institute of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham that fellow professionals might find the story lacking credible details of care or treatment. Thankfully, those who gave early reviews found that it passed muster! Here are some of their responses.
"Crawford is a master storyteller. The Wonders of Doctor Bent covers deep and dark themes in a compelling and highly engaging manner. Be prepared to be taken on a thrilling adventure that delves into the very essence of what makes us human...” - Professor Ahmed Hankir, Consultant Psychiatrist, and author of The Breakthrough
"Brooding, brilliant and beautiful." - Dave Chawner, standup and TV comedian, mental health campaigner and author of Weight Expectations
"A beautifully written and engaging psychological thriller that will keep you thinking long after the final page… With impeccable prose and a thought-provoking plot, this dark literary thriller not only captivates fans of the genre but also offers profound value to those with lived experience of or an interest in mental health, shedding light on the complexities of compassion and accountability." - Dr David Crepaz-Keay, Mental Health Foundation
“A moving tale of loss and love. Jason Hemp breaks down after his perfect brother is murdered and Dr Bent, an imperfect, thrill-seeking, motorcycle-riding healer, fights to transform the humiliating state of the public services. His revolutionary changes are undermined, and he is left wondering what it is all for, and resolves to repair his own dark wounds...” - Kam Bhui CBE, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
"A brilliantly written thriller which draws us into the dire consequences of adverse childhood experiences. It poignantly reveals the potential for recovery." - Gene Beresin MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
"Moving storytelling and vivid characters take the reader on an emotional journey of grief, loss, and love. Though the themes are dark this novel is a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit. Crawford at his very best." - Thomas Curran, Leading psychologist and author of The Perfection Trap
The Wonders of Doctor Bent is available at Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith, Foyles, Cranthorpe Millner, and all good bookshops.