Blue asylum : a novel / Kathy Hepinstall.
Amid the mayhem of the American Civil War, a Virginia plantation wife is put on trial by her slaveholder husband. Iris Dunleavy is convicted of madness by a Virginia judge; it is the only reasonable explanation the court can see for her willful behavior, so she is sent to Sanibel Asylum to be restored to a good compliant wife. But Iris knows her husband is the true criminal; she is no lunatic, only guilty of disagreeing with him on Southern notions of justice, cruelty, and property. On a remote Florida island, a pompous superintendent heads this asylum populated by wonderful characters, including his self-diagnosing twelve-year-old son, a woman who swallows anything in sight, and Ambrose Weller, a Confederate soldier whose memories terrorize him into wild fits that can only be calmed by the color blue, but whose gentleness and dark eyes beckon to Iris. The institution calls itself modern, but Iris is skeptical of its methods, particularly the dreaded "water treatment." In this isolated place, she finds love with Ambrose. But can she take him with her if she escapes? Will there be anything for them to make a life from, back home? This novel is the story of a spirited woman, a wounded soldier, their impossible love, and the call of freedom.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780547712079
- ISBN: 0547712073
- ISBN: 9781620907467
- ISBN: 1620907461
- Physical Description: 270 pages ; 22 cm
- Publisher: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Plantation owners' spouses > Virginia > Fiction.
Psychiatric hospital patients > Fiction.
Asylums > Fiction.
Psychiatric hospitals > Fiction.
Virginia > History > Civil War, 1861-1865 > Fiction.
Virginia > History > 19th century > Fiction.
United States > History > Civil War, 1861-1865 > Fiction. - Genre:
- Historical fiction.
Romance fiction.
Novels.
Available copies
- 10 of 11 copies available at NC Cardinal.
- 0 of 0 copies available at McDowell County Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 11 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albemarle Main Library | FIC Hepinstall (Text) | 31010000387987 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Fairview Library | F HEP (Text) | 0020509385744 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Haywood County Main Library | F Hepinstall (Text) | 33115007124420 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Henderson Main Branch | HEP (Text) | 33258006767391 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Macon County Public Library | F HEPINSTALL (Text) | 39493107178974 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Moss Memorial Library | F HEP (Text) | 80605001579712 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Reynolda Manor Branch | FIC Hepinstall, Kathy (Text) | 0112518845188 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| South Granville Branch Library | FIC HEPINS (Text) | 42756201622468 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Spruce Pine Public Library | FIC HEP (Text) | 34444002724383 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
| Transylvania County Library | FIC HEP (Text) | 38079101967115 | Adult Fiction | Checked out | 07/29/2026 |
Accessibility Features
Summary:
Amid the mayhem of the American Civil War, a Virginia plantation wife is put on trial by her slaveholder husband. Iris Dunleavy is convicted of madness by a Virginia judge; it is the only reasonable explanation the court can see for her willful behavior, so she is sent to Sanibel Asylum to be restored to a good compliant wife. But Iris knows her husband is the true criminal; she is no lunatic, only guilty of disagreeing with him on Southern notions of justice, cruelty, and property. On a remote Florida island, a pompous superintendent heads this asylum populated by wonderful characters, including his self-diagnosing twelve-year-old son, a woman who swallows anything in sight, and Ambrose Weller, a Confederate soldier whose memories terrorize him into wild fits that can only be calmed by the color blue, but whose gentleness and dark eyes beckon to Iris. The institution calls itself modern, but Iris is skeptical of its methods, particularly the dreaded "water treatment." In this isolated place, she finds love with Ambrose. But can she take him with her if she escapes? Will there be anything for them to make a life from, back home? This novel is the story of a spirited woman, a wounded soldier, their impossible love, and the call of freedom.
