The 'mad-doctor' Dr Francis Willis achieved national and international celebrity following his successful treatment of King George III's first major episode of insanity in 1788-9. At the time of his summons to attend the King, Willis was a well-established provincial practitioner and madhouse proprietor. An anonymous French visitor published a description of Willis's Lincolnshire madhouse and his therapeutic practices in 1796. The translated text of the full article provides a unique insight into the work of a key figure in the historical development of psychological medicine. The accompanying Introduction summarizes Francis Willis's career as a mad-doctor and uses salient information from the original text to place him and his madhouse practice within a contemporary context.
Keywords: Eighteenth century; Willis; mad-doctor; madhouse; management; treatment.