Diary of an Analysis with Freud: “Wie Benimmt Sich Der Prof. Freud Eigentlich?” Ein Neu Entdecktes Tagebuch Von 1921 Historisch Und Analytisch Kommentiert (“How Does Prof. Freud Actually Behave?” A Newly Discovered Diary From 1921 with Historical and Analytic Commentary), edited by Anna Koellreuter. Giessen:  Psychosozial-Verlag, 2010,  319 pp., €32.90.

In the early spring of 1921, Anna G., a twenty-seven-year-old psychiatry resident at the Burghölzli, the Psychiatric University Clinic in Zurich where Eugen Bleuler was then director, contacted Freud through Emil Oberholzer and Oskar Pfister.1 She wanted to know if he would take her as a patient. She had been engaged for seven years to a man she knew from medical school, and her wedding was planned in detail for the following September. But she remained ambivalent about the relationship. Hoping to gain clarity about whether she should go through with the marriage, she decided to consult Freud.2 He answered her with a letter dated March 23, 1921:

Dear Doctor, given my currently cramped patient schedule I am happy to hear that you are one and the same patient who was recommended to me by Oberholzer and Pfister. I am answering right away so that we can come to a quick decision. I cannot agree to see you before I know whether you accept my fee and whether I can accept your timing, something you have not mentioned yet. I am charging 40 Swiss francs an hour,3 payable monthly, and do not take anyone who cannot stay until July 15th. The last point alone is decisive. Considering the time pressure, I am asking you to reply by telegram and I will