The Interpretation of Murder
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''The Interpretation of Murder'', published in 2006, is the first novel by the American law professor Jed Rubenfeld. The book is written in the first person perspective of Dr. Stratham Younger, supposedly an American psychoanalyst. Other events where he is not present he is informed upon so that he has enough knowledge to write and comment on them.


Plot summary

On the morning after
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...
arrives in New York City on his first – and only – visit to the United States in 1909, a stunning
débutante A debutante, also spelled débutante, ( ; from french: débutante , "female beginner") or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and, as a new adult, is presented to society at a formal ...
is found bound and strangled in her penthouse apartment, high above
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
. The following night, another beautiful heiress, Nora Acton, is discovered tied to a chandelier in her parents' home, viciously wounded and unable to speak or to recall her ordeal. Soon Freud and his American disciple, Stratham Younger, are enlisted to help Miss Acton recover her memory, and to piece together the killer's identity. It is a riddle that will test their skills to the limit and lead them on a journey into the darkest places of the city, and of the human mind.


Characters

*
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...
*
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, phi ...
*
Abraham Brill Abraham Arden Brill (October 12, 1874 – March 2, 1948) was an Austrian-born psychiatrist who spent almost his entire adult life in the United States. He was the first psychoanalyst to practice in the United States and the first translator of S ...
*Rose Brill *
Sándor Ferenczi Sándor Ferenczi (7 July 1873 – 22 May 1933) was a Hungarian psychoanalyst, a key theorist of the psychoanalytic school and a close associate of Sigmund Freud. Biography Born Sándor Fränkel to Baruch Fränkel and Rosa Eibenschütz, bo ...
*
George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...
, Mayor of New York City *Stratham Younger, Dr. (fictional). The first person story teller in the book. *Nora Acton (fictional). Based on Freud's case study of "Dora" (Ida Bauer) *Mr. Harcourt Acton and Mrs. Acton, Nora's parents (fictional) *George Banwell, Building contractor (fictional) *Clara Banwell, George Banwell's wife (fictional) *Jimmy Littlemore, Detective (fictional) *Charles Hugel, Coroner (fictional) *
Granville Stanley Hall Granville Stanley Hall (February 1, 1846 – April 24, 1924) was a pioneering American psychologist and educator. His interests focused on human life span development and evolutionary theory. Hall was the first president of the American Psy ...
*
Ernest Jones Alfred Ernest Jones (1 January 1879 – 11 February 1958) was a Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst. A lifelong friend and colleague of Sigmund Freud from their first meeting in 1908, he became his official biographer. Jones was the first En ...
*Smith Ely Jeliffe, Dr, Publisher *The "
Triumvirate A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...
": **Charles Loomis Dana **
Bernard Sachs Bernard Sachs (January 2, 1858 – February 8, 1944) was an American neurologist. Early life and education After graduating with a B.A. from Harvard in 1878, Sachs travelled to Europe and studied under some of the more prominent physicians o ...
**M. Allen Starr *Elizabeth Riverford (fictional) *Mr. and Mrs. Biggs (fictional), the Acton family's servants *Betty Longobardi (fictional) *Chong Sing *Leon Ling, alias William Leon *Seamus Malley (fictional) *
Harry Thaw Harry Kendall Thaw (February 12, 1871 – February 22, 1947) was the son of American coal and railroad baron William Thaw Sr.. Heir to a multimillion-dollar fortune, the younger Thaw is most notable for murdering the renowned architect Sta ...
*
Elsie Sigel Elsie Sigel (1889 – '' ca.'' June 1909) was a granddaughter of General Franz Sigel, and the victim of a notorious murder at the age of 19 in New York City in 1909. Sigel, who had been a missionary in Chinatown, was found strangled inside a ...
, granddaughter of General
Franz Sigel Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German American military officer, revolutionary and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil ...
*Mr. and Mrs. Sigel, Elsie's parents *Mabel, Mr. and Mrs. Sigel's niece *Charles Johnson *Susan A.(Susie) Merrill, Brothel owner *Mr. and Mrs. Hyslop *Mr. and Mrs. Fish *Charles Becker, Police Sergeant *Louis Riviere


Places, landmarks and buildings

* Manhattan Bridge * Gramercy Park *
Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
*
Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
*Hotel Manhattan *
Waldorf-Astoria The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schult ...
(not current) * Coney Island *The Balmoral Hotel (fictional) * Gillender Building *
The Players Club ''The Players Club'' is a 1998 American Comedy film, comedy Drama (film and television), drama Thriller film, thriller film written and directed by Ice Cube in his List of directorial debuts, feature film directorial debut. In addition to Ice Cub ...
* Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane


External links

* 2006 American novels American mystery novels Cultural depictions of Sigmund Freud Fiction set in 1909 Historical mystery novels Novels set in the 1900s Novels set in New York City Henry Holt and Company books 2006 debut novels {{2000s-mystery-novel-stub