{"product_id":"the-snake-pit-paperback","title":"The Snake Pit - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMary Jane Ward\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA 75th anniversary edition of the landmark novel that forever changed the way we think about mental illness and its treatment\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eDo you hear voices?\u003c\/i\u003e Virginia Stuart Cunningham, a journalist and novelist with a wicked sense of humor, is sitting on a park bench waiting for her husband when an intrusive stranger begins to pester her with nonsensical questions. Is he mad? Or is she? So begins this brilliant literary exploration of mental illness, a novel that asks us to reconsider what counts as sanity in a crazy world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSuffering a breakdown in 1941, thirty-five-year-old novelist Mary Jane Ward was diagnosed, or perhaps misdiagnosed, with schizophrenia and committed to a psychiatric hospital in upstate New York. From that horrific experience came this gripping story. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eInspiration for the 1948 film starring Olivia de Havilland, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Snake Pit\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e sparked important investigative journalism and state legislation to reform the care and treatment of people with mental illness. It belongs in the company of Sylvia Plath's \u003ci\u003eThe Bell Jar \u003c\/i\u003eand Ken Kesey's \u003ci\u003eOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest\u003c\/i\u003e--two books it influenced. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis authoritative Library of America edition includes an afterword by Ward's cousin, Larry Lockridge, and a Reading Group Guide featuring additional material about Ward and the real-life roots of the novel.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMary Jane Ward\u003c\/b\u003e (1905-1981) was the author of nine novels, including her three autobiographical novels that concern mental illness and its treatment--\u003ci\u003eThe Snake Pit\u003c\/i\u003e (1946), \u003ci\u003eCounterclockwise\u003c\/i\u003e (1969), and \u003ci\u003eThe Other Caroline \u003c\/i\u003e(1970). Her papers are held at Boston University's Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eLarry Lockridge\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor Emeritus of English at New York University, and has held Danforth, Woodrow Wilson, and Guggenheim fellowships. He is the author of several books, including a biography of his father, \u003ci\u003eShade of the Raintree: The Life and Death of Ross Lockridge, Jr., Author of \u003c\/i\u003eRaintree County.\n        \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 368\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.1 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 01, 2021\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42699550523455,"sku":"9781598536805","price":19.14,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/b81e493d7bba3bd97fe85f8087a525f0.webp?v=1765013665","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/the-snake-pit-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}