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Overview
This work gives an insider's, in-law view of the family Freud, its foundations, and flaws. The relationship between Esti, daughter of a wealthy Vienna attorney and her husband Martin Freud is foreshadowed by the young lovers' fathers. At first meeting Esti, Sigmund told his son the glamorous woman was too beautiful for the clan, meaning her splendor belied a lifestyle not conducive to the frugal Freud ways. And Esti's father, on hearing of her love for Martin, expressed regret she was involved with a man who was not a financially favorable linkage, and that his family was not respectable since patriarch Sigmund was just another psychiatrist, and one who writes pornography books at that. Thus begins the ill-fated relationship that would rock two families and a generation of children to come. Sophie weaves into the text letters she inherited, including letters from Martin while he was a prisoner of war, and excerpts from her own diary, kept as an adolescent. The resulting mosaic will fascinate—and perhaps disturb—readers interested in Freud and psychoanalysis, as well as those intrigued by relationships and family.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780275994150 |
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Publisher: | Bloomsbury Academic |
Publication date: | 04/30/2007 |
Edition description: | New Edition |
Pages: | 472 |
Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.19(d) |
About the Author
What People are Saying About This
"I found myself completely taken over, pulled into the story and unable to put the book down...so compelling is the combination of historical events with intriguing personal/family stories.... This saga, fascinating in its own right, and sheds reflected light on the famous Freud family. Autobiography, diaries and letters give multiple views of these events, held together by Sophie Freud's own fiercely honest narration. I know of nothing like it and strongly recommend it as a beautifully crafted work that will appeal to the widest group of readers."
Morris N. Eagle
"This is a fascinating and unusual book, one that can be read at many different levels. It is a moving document--an act of love--of a daughter who, in her own later years, re-discovers her mother through her mother's autobiography. This is altogether and extraordinary, even epic, account of mainly the lives of mother and daughter, but also of an entire family. I was very moved by its depth, sadness, courage, and honesty."
Morris N. Eagle, Ph. D., Professor Emeritus, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies Adelphi University.
"This is a fascinating and unusual book, one that can be read at many different levels. It is a moving documentan act of loveof a daughter who, in her own later years, re-discovers her mother through her mother's autobiography. This is altogether and extraordinary, even epic, account of mainly the lives of mother and daughter, but also of an entire family. I was very moved by its depth, sadness, courage, and honesty."
Louis Breger
"I found myself completely taken over, pulled into the story and unable to put the book down…so compelling is the combination of historical events with intriguing personal/family stories…. This saga, fascinating in its own right, and sheds reflected light on the famous Freud family. Autobiography, diaries and letters give multiple views of these events, held together by Sophie Freud's own fiercely honest narration. I know of nothing like it and strongly recommend it as a beautifully crafted work that will appeal to the widest group of readers."
Louis Breger, Ph.D., Author of the acclaimed biography Freud: Darkness in the Midst of Vision
"This riveting, insightful book illuminates the personal lives of Freud's extended family through letters, diaries and personal observations. No melodrama can match the loves, hates, betrayals and deceptions that rend the members apart. Yet there are displays of extraordinary courage, outstanding achievements, intense cultural pursuits and deep dedication. For instance, amazing courage is displayed by Freud's daughter-in-law and granddaughter as they escape the advancing Germans by bicycling across France. Benignly but distantly, Sigmund floats above the turmoil. For the Freud scholar this is a must-read, for the layman it is as juicy as a gossip column."
"What is in fact most compelling about this book is the sublime honesty of Sophie Freud herself. One feels her pride and her suffering as a scion of psychoanalytic aristocracy."
"Spanning more than a century of family history, Sophie Freud's captivating memoir presents a penetrating and brutally honest glimpse into the conflicted lives, unfulfilled dreams, and cruel setbacks experienced by this extended branch of the Freud family. Readers will be fascinated by the sometimes harrowing details of how this famous familybuffeted by the tragedy of two world wars and the horrors of the Holocaustsurvived the arduous path from Vienna to a new life in America."
Charles B. Strozier
"What is in fact most compelling about this book is the sublime honesty of Sophie Freud herself. One feels her pride and her suffering as a scion of psychoanalytic aristocracy."
Charles B. Strozier, Professor of History, John Jay College and the Graduate Center, CUNY
Dorit B. Whiteman
"This riveting, insightful book illuminates the personal lives of Freud's extended family through letters, diaries and personal observations. No melodrama can match the loves, hates, betrayals and deceptions that rend the members apart. Yet there are displays of extraordinary courage, outstanding achievements, intense cultural pursuits and deep dedication. For instance, amazing courage is displayed by Freud's daughter-in-law and granddaughter as they escape the advancing Germans by bicycling across France. Benignly but distantly, Sigmund floats above the turmoil. For the Freud scholar this is a must-read, for the layman it is as juicy as a gossip column."
Dorit B. Whiteman, Ph.D., President, Nassau County Psychological Association author of The Uprooted: A Hitler Legacy and Escape via Siberia: A Jewish Child's Odyssey of Survival
Frank J. Sulloway
"Spanning more than a century of family history, Sophie Freud's captivating memoir presents a penetrating and brutally honest glimpse into the conflicted lives, unfulfilled dreams, and cruel setbacks experienced by this extended branch of the Freud family. Readers will be fascinated by the sometimes harrowing details of how this famous family--buffeted by the tragedy of two world wars and the horrors of the Holocaust--survived the arduous path from Vienna to a new life in America."
Frank J. Sulloway, Author of Freud, Biologist of the Mind: Beyond the Psychoanalytic Legend and Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives.