Very Late Victorian Holocausts, q.v. (in 's review, or related to the Great Hedge of India).
The literal connection to shock therapy is grimly elegant; and if you become too sad to read the whole book through, do try the Conclusion, "Shock Wears Off".
Find in a Library: Shock Doctrine
Find in a Library: Late Victorian Holocausts
So wrote clew in History (20th c.).