The Madman's Tale

The Madman's Tale is a novel written by John Katzenbach. It was published and released in 2004.

Plot summary

Francis Petrel, recently released from an asylum faces his own inner demons as he recounts his memories of a murderer in the asylum during his time there. The story tells itself in two parallel parts: one of the stories is during his time in the asylum, all a memory slowly bringing itself back to life; the other story takes place after he is released, and he feels compelled to author a book on the events surrounding that murder. He has no paper, so he writes his story on the wall and is constantly challenged with tedious interruptions. At the same time, he forgoes his medication, and the tension of continuing with his work becomes threatened by his struggle with his own madness.

It is currently being turned into a movie and it was supposed to be filmed from November 26th, 2007 until approximately January 20th, 2008 at Fairfield State Hospital in Newtown, Connecticut. Filming has not yet taken place due to personal issues of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, the films star, according to an article in the Newtown Bee.

Trivia: Descriptions in the text suggest that the central hospital, "Western State Hospital", is actually modeled on the Northampton State Hospital, which operated in Northampton, MA from 1856 - 1996.