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In the Freud Archives (New York Review Books Classics) Paperback – November 30, 2002

by Janet Malcolm (Author, Afterword)
4.5 out of 5 stars 97 ratings
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Includes an afterword by the author

In the Freud Archives tells the story of an unlikely encounter among three men: K. R. Eissler, the venerable doyen of psychoanalysis; Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, a flamboyant, restless forty-two-year-old Sanskrit scholar turned psychoanalyst turned virulent anti-Freudian; and Peter Swales, a mischievous thirty-five-year-old former assistant to the Rolling Stones and self-taught Freud scholar. At the center of their Oedipal drama are the Sigmund Freud Archives--founded, headed, and jealously guarded by Eissler--whose sealed treasure gleams and beckons to the community of Freud scholarship as if it were the Rhine gold.

Janet Malcolm's fascinating book first appeared some twenty years ago, when it was immediately recognized as a rare and remarkable work of nonfiction. A story of infatuation and disappointment, betrayal and revenge, In the Freud Archives is essentially a comedy. But the powerful presence of Freud himself and the harsh bracing air of his ideas about unconscious life hover over the narrative and give it a tragic dimension.
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  1. Print length
    176 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    NYRB Classics
  4. Publication date
    November 30, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 0.49 x 7.97 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    159017027X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1590170274
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Janet Malcolm was born in Prague. She was educated at the High School of Music and Art, in New York, and at the University of Michigan. Along with In the Freud Archives, her books include Diana and Nikon: Essays on Photography, Psychoanalysis: The Impossible Profession, The Journalist and the Murderer, The Purloined Clinic: Selected Writings, The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, The Crime of Sheila McGough, and Reading Chekhov: A Critical Journey. She wrote about the trial of Mazoltuv Borukhova, the mother of Michelle, in her book Iphigenia in Forest Hills, just out in paperback. Her collection Forty-One False Starts: Essays on Artists and Writers will be published in the spring of 2013.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYRB Classics; Main edition (November 30, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 159017027X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1590170274
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.49 x 7.97 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 97 ratings

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4.5 out of 5 stars
97 global ratings

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Customers find the book fascinating and engaging, with one review noting it reads like a thriller. The writing quality receives positive feedback, with one customer highlighting how the text remains accessible without becoming too theoretical.

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6 customers mention "Readability"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and interesting, with one customer noting it reads like a thriller, while another mentions it provides insights into the history and concepts of psychoanalysis.

"...Janet Malcolm's writing is so absorbing that the book reads like a thriller...." Read more

"Very well written and captivating non-fiction story about the intrigues around the Sigmund Freud Archives...." Read more

"...This is a lively tour through the people and personalities who have taken it upon themselves to protect and challenge the legacy of Sigmund Freud." Read more

"Janet can write! and her subjects are always fascinating. Am headed for my 4th book by her now, so must go...." Read more

5 customers mention "Writing quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality of the book, with one customer noting it is an immensely readable account that remains accessible without becoming too theoretical.

"...What Ms. Malcolm has done is create an immensely readable account of her encounter with Jeffrey Masson, a self-absorbed, very troubled man, who..." Read more

"...In the Freud Archives is not difficult to read. After reading the postscript I wondered a little about Janet Malcolms use of sources...." Read more

"This small well written book is really nothing but a bit of fluffy gossip...." Read more

"Janet can write! and her subjects are always fascinating. Am headed for my 4th book by her now, so must go...." Read more

The book was cut improperly
1 out of 5 stars
The book was cut improperly
This book was cut improperly. It was a NYRB print-run reject that was dumped onto Amazon who happily sold it. No need to kill another tree to replace it, just underhanded tactics by Amazon.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Harold Goodman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Makes me want to read anything Malcolm has written.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    This is my second book by Janet Malcolm. The first, Psychoanalysis: the impossible profession, left me wanting more. I was not at all disappointed with this title.

    What Ms. Malcolm has done is create an immensely readable account of her encounter with Jeffrey Masson, a self-absorbed, very troubled man, who managed to con his way into the good graces of Kurt Eissler, the founder and caretaker of the Freud Archives, as well as Anna Freud, the great man's daughter.

    Janet Malcolm's writing is so absorbing that the book reads like a thriller. Essentially, Mr. Masson and one of his acquaintances, who also is involved in Freud sleuthing, both create their own castles and then use them to destroy themselves. How they do this is made crystal clear via Ms. Malcolm's book. A study in character disorder, one might say.

    As you will learn, this intellectual neophyte, cons his way into people's lives and then, when his true colors are revealed, sues them if they dare to complain. In fact, following the publication of this volume Mr. Masson sued the author. His suit was dismissed after ten years.

    Mr. Masson is no bashful fellow:

    He told Malcolm that after Freud, he should be recognized as "the greatest analyst who ever lived." (p.162)
    Elsewhere she notes that he considers his claim to fame that he exposed Freud and psychoanalysis as a fraud.

    Nice guy.

    After betraying many decent elderly people in the US, Canada and Europe, he went on to a glorious career as a hack. His current area of expertise is animal rights, vegetarianism and his deep sensitivity to human emotions.

    Malcolm wields her pen like a scalpel. She is truly masterful in her writing.

    Anyway, give it a read.

    You will surely return for more.
    21 people found this helpful
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  • MarkusG
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fight over Freud
    Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2008
    Verified Purchase
    Very well written and captivating non-fiction story about the intrigues around the Sigmund Freud Archives. The character descriptions are interesting, and we are also given some insights into the history and concepts of psychoanalysis. This is done without the text becoming too theoretical. In the Freud Archives is not difficult to read. After reading the postscript I wondered a little about Janet Malcolms use of sources. She is not exactly kind towards Masson, and maybe she betrays him by putting into text words not intended to.I don't know, there was some controversy after the first publication. Anyway, the book is great.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Thomas A. Trent
    4.0 out of 5 stars The Key's to Freud's Kingdom
    Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    I read this book in two days. Granted, its not that long (originally printed in two issues of The New Yorker)but it has a page-turner quality that one might not expect from an expose' of intellectuals. Front and center is Jeffrey Moussaiff Masson, a psychoanalytic wunderkind who comes out of nowhere in the early Eighties to mount a full-scale charm offensive with those who literally hold the keys to the Freud archives. Janet Malcom succeeds at telling the story of these outsized personalities while also illuminating the central flaws of Freudian theory, and these are no small flaws. When Freud abandoned the seduction theory (children are not molested by adults, they fantasize about being molested by adults!) he began to develop his grand crystal palace of the human mind. Femininists, social workers and multitudes of therapists have been been rightfully registering their dissent ever since, but it was Masson's turn in the New York Times op-ed page (the Joseph Wilson of psycho-analysis) that brought this important debate back into the light. This is a lively tour through the people and personalities who have taken it upon themselves to protect and challenge the legacy of Sigmund Freud.
    12 people found this helpful
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  • Robert Johnson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful gossip.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    This small well written book is really nothing but a bit of fluffy gossip. But gossip that will delight anyone who has found themselves caught up in the now-venerable controversy surrounding both Jeffrey Masson's book: "The Assault on Truth: Freud's Suppression of the Seduction Theory" and the furor among Freud followers that resulted from it's publication. Through personal interviews, Ms.Malcolm gives us the lowdown on the brilliant but (to say the least) quirky Mr. Masson as well as most of the other surviving characters (as of 1983) involved in Masson's brief yet productive romance with the keepers of Freud's well guarded letters and library.

    Perhaps the surprise here...or lack of surprise, is that those such as Masson, who attempt to push the understanding of any intellectual field beyond it's comfortable boundries will, perhaps out of necessity, find themselves snooping around its often dangerous edges. And perhaps because of the hornet's nest they may stir up, are often a bit on the edgy side themselves.

    Malcolm does a fine job of exposing us to Masson's truly obnoxious character, and yet raises a larger unasked question. Does eccentricity alone invalidate an individual's research and ideas, or when one dares to take on the giants, is that same eccentricity a necessity?

    Whatever the answer, the almost 25 year tandem printing history of these two volumes speaks to the apparent importance of the contentions reguarding Freud that the voracious Masson dared to raise.

    And perhaps simply through daring to raise them, Masson finds his victory.
    12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • C. Hale
    4.0 out of 5 stars Still fascinating
    Reviewed in Germany on June 30, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Read this again. Still a fascinating read although psychoanalysis is so much reduced in significance decades later - and what happened to Peter Swales?
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  • ickle
    5.0 out of 5 stars IN THE FREUD ARCHIVES
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This was a second hand book my other half has read it twice in one weekend he love any thing that contains thoughts and quote from Freud life work. The author has a great way of writing about Freud though it may not be for most people.
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  • sanyata
    4.0 out of 5 stars a mini-novel which is indicentally also a true story
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    this is the story of how freud loyalists and remaining family try to guard freuds personal letter from smear by later independent researchers. the conflict herein could best be described as private property rights (the freud family owns the letters) vs. the right to free research (independent researchers want to see the letters). of course, the property rights should take precedence over the interests of researchers (think about it for a minute - would you want legislation that FORCES the family to give up its private letters? well then - can I see every private letter efter sent in YOUR family? thought not). but even though the freud family and loyalists are entitled to their own property what makes this affair sleasy is that the family is NOT just claiming privacy; - they DO allow for researchers that are pro-freud to look through this material. this means that people who want to write adulating bios of freud are priveledged with more information that the people who do not.

    anyway, about the book: well written and structured, a little short, that is, ending falls a little flat but a nice read and worth having read
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  • Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
    3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not compelling
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    I have previously read Janet Malcolm's remarkable book The Silent Woman, about her attempts to write a biography of Sylvia Plath. It was brilliant, and after having read an article about this book, I decided to give it a whirl. Although the subject matter is interesting, and Malcolm's writing is intelligent and thoughtful, there is something missing here. The book centres on the arguments of several psychoanalysts about the reputation of Sigmund Freud, and their ability to verify their arguments through the use of the extensive archives of his work. The problem is that the curator of the archives is excessively protective of Freud, and has refused to give permission for the work to be used on many occasions. The argument at the centre of the book revolves around the curator, who decides to give the management of the archives to an up and coming academic, Jeffrey Masson. Masson purports to be protective of the Freud name, but turns out to have his own agenda, and ends up upsetting everyone in the process of making a name for himself. The ensuing legal battles wind around the story of the archive and ultimately the issue of who is right about Freud, and his theories. The problem that I had with the book was that it was almost like dropping into a conversation ten minutes in. If you don't know the background, you struggle to fill yourself in as quickly as possible, so that you can keep up with the varying viewpoints offered, which can distract from the story. I felt at times that Malcolm herself lost the thread of the story, or at least which story she was pursuing. The book is short, and I felt didn't really do the subject justice, although the afterword, in which Malcolm updates the story to explain that she has spent the last ten years being unsuccessfully sued by Masson, and the toll it has taken on her, perhaps illuminates the issue of brevity and excuses it. In a book that deals extensively with law suits and litigation, one has to be careful what one says. Which, on the whole is a shame.
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