Darkness in the Soul (The Canterbury Tales, #6)

This last installment of the Canterbury Tales is much darker than its predecessors, in both subject matter and tone. As I mentioned in the previous part, poor Lord Canterbury has been through a lot, and he has one more case to go before we’re finished with him.

There are some subjects contained in this story that I want to warn you about, going in. The first, violence. Sections containing it come with a content warning **appearing like this**. Please don’t ignore these. If it’s triggering for you, skip it by all means. The last thing I want to do is give anyone nightmares.

The second, mental health. I’ll warn you now, Dr Gerald Lynton has a mental affliction that permeates every part of his life and drives him to violence. Considering the context of the time, many people did not know how to talk about mental health the way they do now, and most considered it a burden and a source of shame. Also: there are mentions of suicide and other mental difficulties (again, **content warnings** will appear). Please do skip if you think this might affect you.

However, I don’t want to put a stigma on mental health. I want it to be very clear that these crimes were not committed because of mental affliction – rather because of circumstance. Not all perpetrators are mentally unstable, nor can they claim to be, although some try. I want to note that desperation makes people do strange, uncharacteristic things.

Another character I want to bring attention to – and you’ll see why as it proceeds – is Philomena Lynton. Because of what she witnessed at such a young age, she will have PTSD for the rest of her life. However, as mentioned in the summary, she is hidden from the world, which isolates her and makes her symptoms worse. This was another mental health issue most medical professionals were aware of at the time but did not know how to treat. Most cases were seen in soldiers returning home from World War I, and was known most commonly as “shell-shock” or “combat fatigue”.

I urge you: please please seek help if you need it! There are so many more resources now than there used to be back in the 1920s. I want everyone to be able to talk about their mental health and to be open about it. And know you are not alone. There are people who want to help you.

Please, take care of yourself and listen, to your own needs and each other’s.