For many of us illness refers solely to the physical. Accidents and disease wear us down, hiccup our life from childhood to old age. But everyone empathises, understands and helps us on the road to recovery.

Mental illness though can still carry a stigma. A case of 'you're not trying hard enough', 'or knuckling down and getting on with it'. But in more recent decades mental issues have come to be recognised as an illness, a disease rather than an affliction. We all remember horror stories of lobotomy's and electric shock being used to 'cure' what society viewed as anti-social behaviour but illness, mental or physical is very real. Depression, schizophrenia, breakdown, psychosis, are alarming events to have or to witness.

In this volume our classic authors including Sherwood Anderson, Amy Levy, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Barry Pain and many others explore this oft neglected and most difficult of topics.