Translator' note to The Complete Correspondence of Sigmund Freud and Karl Abraham 1907-1925

In 1965, a selection of the Freud-Abraham correspondence appeared under the title, A Psychoanalytic Dialogue, translated by Hilda Abraham and Eric Mosbacher (under the pseudonym Bernard Marsh). In preparation of a completed edition, the remaining letters were translated by Christine Trollope. Originally, my task had been to put these two translations together and to smooth out any inconsistencies or to correct occasional errors. More and more, however, this developed into a new translation of its own. Nevertheless, Christine Trollope's preliminary work provided an excellent basis to proceed from. From the beginning, Klara King's help far exceeded her role as a copy editor. It goes without saying that I assume sole responsibility for the version as printed.

I have tried to keep as close as possible to the style and meaning of the original. In cases of doubt I opted for a translation close to the German original rather than for fluency in idiomatic English. For technical terms, I generally used those chosen by James Strachey et al. for The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud; in some instances, however, I preferred the terms chosen by Peter Hoffer in his translation of the Freud-Ferenczi letters (1992, 1996, 2000) and made a note to that effect.

I gratefully acknowledge the support and assistance of Ernst Falzeder, William McGuire, Mary Schwarzacher, and Gail Polacsek.