Phyllis Grosskurth

Until recently underestimated in America, Melanie Klein was a leading figure in psychoanalytic circles from the 1920s until her death in 1960. Parent of object-relations theory, she saw the development of children, and of the female in particular, in a way that was both an extension of and a challenge to orthodox Freudian thinking. Now, 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 important, complicated woman and her theories—theories that are still growing in influence both here and abroad. Melanie Klein was not only a highly original theorist and effective practitioner, but a thoroughly fascinating woman. This brilliant, definitive book on her life is a major contribution to psychoanalytic history.