"This book is an engagingly written, intellectually impressive, and absolutely necessary investigation of some of the most significant processes shaping understandings of idiocy, imbecility, etc., in the periods under discussion. While recent years have seen a (modest) growth in intellectual and cultural histories of the idea of idiocy, Jarrett has brought to light areas that have not previously been explored. His analysis of the intersection of popular, legal, and medical understandings of idiocy and his investigations into visual representations of idiocy in popular art are entirely new within the field and will no doubt stimulate further research into these areas. As a result, this work is a must for historians interested in intelligence, disability, and colonialism, and offers a compelling narrative of how a group of people can be exiled from society--and brought back into it.".