A review by brnineworms
The Madman's Library: The Strangest Books, Manuscripts, and Other Literary Curiosities from History by Edward Brooke-Hitching

dark funny informative mysterious fast-paced

3.5

The Madman’s Library delivers exactly what it promises – a compendium of unusual manuscripts and literary curiosities. Beyond that I don’t have a whole lot to say about it. The text and the images are well formatted and work to elevate each other. The writing is evocative and entertaining. The subject matter can get pretty gruesome at times but if it sounds like something that might interest you, I recommend reading it. I wasn’t completely enthralled but it’s a nice enough coffee table book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Ableism, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, and Sexual content

Minor: Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Vomit