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This book is a collection of papers, broadcasts, comments and notes, gathered together by the editors around the themes of deprivation and delinquency. Although Winnicott's views on the relationship of delinquency and deprivation are well known, and six of the major papers in this book are published in previous books of collected papers, it is undoubtedly of interest to read about the experiences and ideas which led to the formulation of these views. In particular, I found it very stimulating to read about Winnicott's experiences as Consultant Psychiatrist to the Government Evacuation Scheme in a reception area in England.
The book is divided into four parts, each with an editorial introduction, and there is an introduction to the whole book by Clare Winnicott.
The first part, ‘Children under stress: wartime experience’, contains a series of radio broadcasts Winnicott gave about the deprived mother, the evacuated child and the return of the evacuated child. These are moving and impressive in the way in which he conveys his understanding of the complex feelings involved in a simple and straightforward way without rendering them simplistic. In Chapter 9 he describes the hostels, and the way of working that he and Clare developed. I found this reminded me to some extent of the Cassel Hospital, which uses the residential community as an important treatment modality. This work of Winnicott's also illustrates how very creative developments can arise out of extremely stressful and pressured situations, like the Northfield Experiment. Sensitive and analytically informed group management becomes the medium through which individual development can be facilitated.
The second part is about ‘The nature and origins of the antisocial tendency’. It contains familiar papers on the roots of aggression, the development of the capacity for concern, and struggling through the doldrums. There is a talk given to the Progressive League on aggression, guilt and reparation, in which he focuses