Tower and Town, September 2025 (view the full edition)Jon Stock - The Sleep Room: A Very British Medical Scandal
Under the care of William Sargant, Physician in Charge of the Department of Psychological Medicine at St Thomas' Hospital, they were roused from their beds to be fed, washed and receive electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). Sargant believed that narcosis, combined with ECT, reprogrammed disturbed minds. Never mind that his patients were there for disorders such as anorexia and having a socially unacceptable boyfriend. Or endured treatments such as insulin shock therapy, high doses of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs, even lobotomy, without consent. 'Will' to his friends, 'Bill the Brain Slicer' to his critics, Sargant was the most famous psychiatrist of his day, Ward Five his personal fiefdom. Well known for the real-life research that underpins his spy and psychological thrillers, Jon Stock has left no stone unturned in this his first non-fiction book to uncover this very British medical scandal. Tracking down Sargant survivors, including the actress Celia Imrie, he focuses on the humanity at the heart of this sorry tale. The monstrous beetle-browed Sargant looms large, but so does the courage of the women whose stories are foregrounded. There is even humour in Stock pricking Sargant's vanity: "the only time anyone saw Sargant move at speed was when the BBC was on the phone," he writes. "He'd run down the corridor to take the call, pill bottles rattling in his pocket." Jon Stock will be talking to LitFest Chair Mary-Vere Parr in the Town Hall at 4pm on Sunday 28 September. Mary-Vere Parr |
