A History of Delusions: The Glass King, a Substitute Husband, and a Walking Corpse

Shepherd, a BBC radio documentary and podcast producer, was conducting research when she came across a description of King Charles VI of France, who believed he was made of glass. Her fascination with the story led to the documentary Glass Delusion, a 10-part series featuring a clinical psychologist, and eventually to this book exploring the history, psychology, and human nature of delusions. What could have been dry as the Sahara escapes that fate, thanks to Shepherd’s engaging writing style and narrator Antonia Bath’s approach to the material. Bath perfectly embodies Shepherd’s academically chatty tone, packing in a huge amount of detail without coming off as a research recitation. Perhaps more importantly, Bath makes plain to listeners Shepherd’s compassion for the individuals behind the mostly sensational and bizarre stories being discussed. They are often people with a history of trauma and personal loss and through a lens focused on modern delusion development.