''Poppy Shakespeare'' is a 2006

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

about

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

by Clare Allan. It tells the story of day patients at a mental health hospital. The central characters are Poppy Shakespeare, a new patient, and "N", a long-term patient. Poppy arrives at the hospital strongly asserting that she is sane and demanding to be released from the program. To gain legal aid she must first prove she is sick so that she can get "MAD money", a.k.a. state benefits. She is befriended by N, who helps her

work the system Gaming the system (also rigging, abusing, cheating, milking, playing, working, or breaking the system, or gaming or bending the rules) can be defined as using the rules and procedures meant to protect a system to, instead, manipulate the system ...

History

Author Clare Allan spent 10 years in a mental health institution. The book was adapted by Sarah Williams and Cowboy Films to a 90-minute drama directed by

Benjamin Ross Benjamin Ross is a writer and film director, born in 1964, based in the United Kingdom. His most noted works are ''The Young Poisoner’s Handbook'', based on a real-life poisoning case, '' Poppy Shakespeare,'' and The Frankenstein Chronicles, ...

and shown on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

on 31 March 2008 and starred

Anna Maxwell Martin Anna Maxwell Martin (born Anna Charlotte Martin; 27 May 1977),Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984–2006 listed birth name as ''Anna Charlotte Martin''; Registration year 1977; Registration District Beverley, Yorkshire som ...

as N and

Naomie Harris Naomie Melanie Harris (born 6 September 1976) is a British actress. She started her career when she was a child, appearing in the television series ''Simon and the Witch'' in 1987. She portrayed Selena in the zombie film ''28 Days Later'' (2002 ...

as Poppy. The book was short-listed for the

Guardian First Book Award The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspap ...

2006, the

Orange Award for New Writers The Orange Award for New Writers was a prize given by telecommunications company Orange between 2006 and 2010. It was launched to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Orange Prize for Fiction. The award was supported by Arts Council England an ...

2007 and the BT

Mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

Book of the year 2007 and long-listed for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007. According to

Michel Faber Michel Faber (born 13 April 1960) is a Dutch-born writer of English-language fiction, including his 2002 novel ''The Crimson Petal and the White''. His latest book is a novel for young adults, '' D: A Tale of Two Worlds'', published in 2020. His ...

's review in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'': "Poppy Shakespeare is a distinctive and powerful debut, full of brave experiments that generate unexpectedly fierce emotional heat. In a literary scene whose established stars milk tragedies such as the Holocaust or 9/11 for precious little reason beyond their own artistic vanity, Allan has given us something indigestibly, potently true."

References

External links

Christian Perring Christian David Perring (born 1962) is an American philosopher. He is known for his works on moral psychology. Perring is the editor of ''Metapsychology Online Reviews'' and Vice President of the Association for the Advancement of Philosophy and ...

"Review - Poppy Shakespeare"
Metapsychology Online'' (Volume 11, Issue 29), 17 July 2007 2008 novels Novels set in psychiatric hospitals 2008 debut novels {{2000s-novel-stub