Chapter Twenty-Five
The Asile Départemental d’Aliénés de Bron1 had been built in the nineteenth century on an estate of 360 acres, partly woods, partly gardens, situated 4 kilometres south-east of Lyon. The institution had been founded by the catholic physician Joseph Arthaud and built by architect Antonin Louvier, also the designer of La Prison Saint-Paul. Indeed, the asylum was modelled like a prison with its domed main building, and its wings stretching out – women to the left and men to the right. The design was rigid and clear-cut: kitchens, storage rooms, dining halls and stables on the ground floor, sleeping quarters upstairs.
As a member of staff, Denis had a room, located at the front of the main building. His window overlooked a driveway, bordered with larch.
He stood at this
