"McDonagh has set a new standard in the history of intellectual disability. The book should be in every library, and available to disability activists, advocates, allies, and consumers. The book has an obvious appeal to scholars interested in disability studies and disability history, but is also valuable to scholars of literature, social and medical history, the history of education, and gender studies. McDonagh's prose is far from breezy, but it is also far from pompous, and the book is as suitable for any persevering reader as it is for the specialist. In sum, Idiocy is an outstanding study of the representation of idiocy as a fluid, symbolic cultural force. McDonagh uses the best of disability studies and, in turn, contributes greatly to the field."--H-Disability, H-Net Reviews "Idiocy is an outstanding study of the representation of idiocy as a fluid, symbolic cultural force. McDonagh uses the best of disability studies and, in turn, contributes greatly to the field.

"--h-net online "Whether you know a great deal about the history of disability or nothing at all, Idiocy is an excellent book. For the scholar, it offers a supplicated map of concept's past and a model for further studies. For general reader, it offers an insightful view of some familiar characters and plots, and an introduction to idiot characters from across English literary history and genres."--Times Higher Education "Idiocy: A Cultural History is an engaging and ambitious achievement. Most importantly, through showing the shifting and contingent nature of 'idiocy', McDonagh allows us to glimpse that 'learning disability' need not always mean what it does today."--British Journal of Learning Disabilities "Idiocy is a necessary read because attempts to inform our stereotypes of idiots are so scarce. In reading Idiocy we may realize just how vulnerable our own claims to rights of dignity and self-government truly are."--Rover Arts.