Melanie Klein: Her World and Her Work

Underestimated until recently in America, Melanie Klein was a leading figure in psychoanalytic circles from the 1920s until her death in 1960. From the moment she read Freud’s paper On Dreams she was enraptured, converted, and dedicated to psychoanalysis. She was the first European psychoanalyst to become a member of the British Psychoanalytical Society, and ultimately she became its dominant influence. Drawing on a wealth of hitherto unexplored documents as well as extensive interviews with people who knew and worked with Klein, Phyllis Grosskurth has written a superb account of this complicated woman and her theories—theories that are still growing in influence.

Review :
[A] fascinating biography...Its great strength lies in the author's ability to bring characters and controversies to life...The great 'Controversial Discussions' of the 1940s form the heart of Grosskurth's narrative. She brilliantly recreates the motives of the participants, while deftly untangling the complex issues at stake...We are very much in Phyllis Grosskurth's debt.--Paul Robinson "Washington Post " A biography that is fascinating, profound, and in every respect worthy of its subject.--David Ingleby "Times Literary Supplement " A rich historical source that can perhaps help psychoanalysis to remember rather than to relive its past.--Helen Block Lewis "Los Angeles Times Book Review " Grosskurth's detailed, comprehensive, and panoramic study of Klein, her work, and her times...is a very valuable and important contribution...[Grosskurth] presents Klein's life and the development of her theories with an impressive command over the details and the complex (often highly technical) issues. Most valuable is the treasure trove of reflections and memories from many of the key figures in recent psychoanalytic history, making this an invaluable document in the recording of oral history...It is a riveting, inspirational story, told with a strong narrative voice, with many cameo portraits and subplots, creating a rich panorama of crucial decades in psychoanalytic history.--Stephen A. Mitchell "Contemporary Psychology " Melanie Klein, the pioneer of child psychiatry who died in London in 1960, was surely one of the most controversial figures in modern psychoanalysis. As one American doctor remarked, 'Freud made sex respectable; Melanie Klein made aggression respectable.'--Elaine Showalter "Boston Globe " Remarkable...[Grosskurth] skillfully handles a wide range of source materials...Much of the book's power comes from Mrs. Grosskurth's access to Melanie Klein's own, unpublished autobiography, which evokes a haunting and recurrent question about the status of psychoanalytic knowledge: the question of the unanalyzed analyst...The analytic movement perpetuates myths about the successful analyses of its founder and major theorists. Phyllis Grosskurth's new biography explodes such simple myths, forcing us to ask once again if the status of psychoanalytic theory is challenged by the vulnerability of psychoanalysts. But is also provides rich new materials for thinking through this problem. It testifies to the courage if not the calm of a woman who drew on her own unresolved suffering to bring other analysts face to face with the 'witches of the night.'--Sherry Turkle "New York Times Book Review "