Bedlam South: A Novel
As usual I start out by saying that I am not a real fan of novels; this, however, is a great story that will keep you reading and guessing what is around the corner. Bedlam South is basically the story of Dr. Joseph Bryarly, an Alabamian who has lived in England for many years. He worked in the Bethlem Royal Hospital, an asylum for the insane, but a letter from none other than Jefferson Davis asks that he return to America to head the Wingate Asylum in Richmond. The story begins with his packing to leave England. We are then introduced to Billy and Zeke Gibson, who are Mississippians attached to Barksdale’s Brigade of the Army of Northern Virginia. Billy is a grizzled veteran, and Zeke, is new to the army and to warfare. It is just prior to the Gettysburg Campaign, and Billy has little time to pound some sense into Zeke’s out-for-adventure head. As was usual on ships carrying immigrants from England to America, the one Dr. Bryarly finds himself on is more like a “coffin” ship. During the voyage many become ill and the good doctor does his best to assist. In the course of the trip he meets and falls in love with Ana Dougall. The Dougalls, Ana, her brother and her parents, are on their way to Richmond to become indentured servants. When Joseph reaches the asylum, scrawled across the hospital plaque are the words, “Bedlam South.” When he enters the hospital and meets the self-made superintendent, Capt. Samuel Percy, the doctor realizes he has gone from one awful asylum into the depths of hell. Percy is the quintessential bad guy. Meanwhile Billy and Zeke march off to Gettysburg where they are both wounded. Zeke recovers and remains with his unit. Billy, on the other hand, eventually ends up in a prisoner of war camp — after falling in love with his nurse Sally. Billy is eventually exchanged and returns to Richmond, where he is jailed by another bad guy, who turns him into a prize fighter. Sally has Billy’s baby and eventually reaches Richmond in search of Billy. Simply trying to stay alive, Joseph spends two years fighting Percy and his band of goons. Not only does he have Percy to deal with also nightmares, whiskey and drugs. In the end Billy and Zeke find each other, but Billy is toting a son. Sally found him too late. Ana falls out of and then back in love with Joseph. Percy gets what’s coming to him. But the ultimate surprise is that Joseph is not who he has made himself out to be. All in all, a good story. But not all is well with the book. The authors, though Grisham claims to be a fan of the Civil War, certainly know little about the sequence of battles, accoutrements, the way the military worked, the fact that corporals and sergeants are not “officers,” and (easy for me) the correct spelling of Lee’s horse Traveller’s name with two l’s. Donaldson was the author who knew about the asylum and its patients. Whether or not that information is correct, this reviewer does not know as he is not a psychiatrist (though he could use the services of one). Thus, reader beware, because if you are a stickler for accuracy you’re not going to get it in this volume. That being said, for a good tale that will keep you hanging, I recommend this volume. Reviewer: Blake A. Magner Blake A. Magner is the former Civil War News Book Review Editor. He makes his living as an editor, writer, cartographer and photographer of Civil War history. He is author of Traveller & Company: The Horses at Gettysburg.
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