Edel traces a common thread in the works of James Joyce, Henry James, and Frank Kafka, among others. He finds the term 'tristimania', which was applied

by Dr. Benjamin Rush to an agitated form of depression, useful in describing the 'depression in art—for nothing is more chronic among writers than sadness. Turn where we will, we find them writing elegies upon the passing of time, of glory, of life.' A brief abstract cannot do justice to the rich material, scholarly observations, and the conclusions in Edel's paper. The psychoanalyst will find this rewarding reading.