Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors from 1800
By Lisa Appignanesi
Virago £20, 560 pages
FT bookshop price: £16

Many intelligent people will tell you, if asked about a symptom they have, that it is either caused by “brain chemistry” or genetics, though they would not be in such haste to ascribe their virtues – kindness, charm, talent – to such things.