‘Blue Asylum’ by Kathy Hephinstall is a short tale of wrongful imprisonment in an insane asylum. It was easy to get into the story and didn’t bog down in places. Set during the Civil War on Sanibel Island, a place well known for excellent seashell hunting, the main character, Iris and the son of the superintendent, Wendell, do collect shells several on the beach. But this is not a light and sunny story, it is one of guilty secrets buried so deep that they disturbed the peace of mind of the possessors.

Iris Dunleavy was shipped to the island along with a herd of cattle. Her husband had declared her insane and a Judge signed the papers to have her committed. Her trial had taken less than an hour. The story of what led up to her husband, Robert putting her away is slowly revealed through her memories. While she was at the Sanibel Asylum for Lunatics, she met and befriended Wendell who grew up without children his age and feeling like a prisoner on the island.

Wendell’s father, Dr. Cowell had gained prestige by writing a paper on lunacy among women and the rising suffrage movement. Wendell’s mother, Mary, is in her own little world of laudanum, chocolate and remedies of the time.

Iris falls for a wounded Confederate soldier, Ambrose, who suffers pain from his stump but even more pain from a terrible event in during his time as a soldier. The emotional pain from that even was so overwhelming that he was taught by Dr. Cowell to think of blue, blue sky, blue birds, blue anything so that he could distract himself from the horror. Slowly, we learn Ambrose’s terrible secret too. But Iris and Ambrose were not able to break through of their guilt, so strong was their feeling that they were responsible for awful things that happened.

This story is part historical fiction, part mystery, part expose of slavery, the condition of women and of power of the strong over the helpless. I did get hooked early on this story and had trouble laying it down. I really like the beach setting and its contrast to many of the dark lives of the characters. The beach was the sole place that they could feel free away from the asylum. I think it brought up many psychological and social issues that could have been examined in a longer book. On the whole, I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to any historical fiction fan or history fan.

I received this book from the Amazon Vine Program and that in no way influenced my review.