Psychoanalytic biographies have not fared well this past year. The present book should prove an exception since it is based on a thorough knowledge of both psychoanalytic theory and the personality under consideration, Joseph Conrad. Dr. Meyer has studied the published and unpublished works of Conrad as well as many scholarly sources which are quoted extensively. All of this evidence is carefully marshalled and documented so that his conclusions flow naturally from the information presented. He is modest in his final formulations, often more so than necessary, and he does not hesitate to label as conjecture anything he so considers rather than make an unsupported statement. This book presents an engrossing study of an important enigmatic literary figure, written in a highly literate style by an informed student of psychoanalysis. It is a contribution to both literary studies and psychoanalytic biographies.

The transformation of Polish-born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski into English-speaking and -writing Joseph Conrad has