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In recent years, for a variety of reasons, large quantities of unpublished and untranslated writings by Sigmund Freud are again being made available. Simultaneously, a growing body of critical literature is developing around the established editions of Freud's works. Complete editions of Freud's correspondences with Fliess, Jones, Ferenczi, Abraham and Anna Freud (in addition to Silberstein and Binswanger) have appeared—or soon will appear—in German, English, French and other major languages. The very extensive betrothal correspondence, often quoted but never published, is being transcribed in New York. Freud's Complete Neuroscientific Works, covering more than 200 titles, are being prepared for simultaneous publication in German and English. A draft of one of the famous, missing metapsychological papers has been discovered, and published and translated, as have drafts and notes for such major works as Moses and Monotheism, some of Freud's classical case studies, innumerable minor works, reviews, reports and individual letters. The long-awaited Oeuvres complètes de Freud has begun to appear in print, with a flurry of secondary literature devoted to the French translation of Freud. Not least of all, James Strachey's monumental Standard Edition is under revision, having been subjected to severe criticism and an intense debate which now occupies a voluminous literature of its own. These developments are occurring in the context of searching reappraisals of the nature and origins of Freud's contribution to science, and of his place in the history of ideas. These appraisals are ultimately concerned with the very foundations of our discipline. To that extent, they are of importance to us all.
Into this vortex, Ilse Grubrich-Simitis has cast a work of very great significance. In view of its significance, and due to the fact that it is not yet accessible to English-speaking readers, it seems appropriate to use this forum to provide a more detailed summary of its c