Here are 1200 pages regaling us with anecdotes and recollections direct from the mouth of Freud himself, shared with his trusted friend and colleague, William Feaver. Feaver proves to be an exemplary choice; this mammoth tome is a major feat in biography writing. The notorious private life, the wives and women, the 14 children, the rich cast of fellow enfant terribles around Soho and the artworld of the 50’s and 60’s, there is no stone unturned in this forensic study of Freud’s life. And yet, throughout all the reflections on the character of the man and the world he inhabited, Feaver remains a thoughtful and incisive art critic. Always the work comes first… very much something that could have been said of the artist himself. It is a wonderful and fitting tribute to a genius of our time.