Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York

"[This] history of Blackwell's Island is a shocking tale, and an invaluable account that will reward anyone with an interest in the history of New York."*

"New York's Victorian-era reformers had an idea: to isolate the city's indigent, diseased, mentally ill, and delinquent on an island in the East River, where they could be cared for with competence and compassion. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way. Stacy Horn is the perfect Virgil for this chilling, vivid, and enthralling journey ...