Peter Bartlett & David Wright 
Outside the Walls of the Asylum [PDF ebook] 
The History of Care in the Community 1750-2000

This historical account of the care of insanity outside formal instruction explores key issues relating to the social history of madness from 1750 to the present day. These include women and the social construciton of madness, the boarding out of lunatics by poor law authorities, familial care and treatment of the insane and the practice of mental healing by general practitioners.