The Unfortunate Lunatic: A story of madness, make-believe and reinvention

Throughout her childhood, Tess Redgrave knew she had a 'mad' grandmother who made repeated visits to a mental asylum. But it wasn't until her thirties, years after her Nanie had died and in the depths of her own crippling depression, that Tess was prompted to find out more. What she unearthed was an explosive family story of madness and secrecy that stretched back to nineteenth-century New Zealand and to a man referred to by the courts as 'an unfortunate lunatic'. While the discovery shocked Tess, it also helped her face the truth not only about her grandmother but about herself. The Unfortunate Lunatic is a compulsive read that says as much about the history of mental health care in this country as it does about one family and what they have suffered. It also talks to the power of stories to uncover the truth and to heal.