''The Passions of the Mind'' is a 1971 novel by American author

Irving Stone Irving Stone (born Tennenbaum, July 14, 1903 – August 26, 1989) was an American writer, chiefly known for his biographical novels of noted artists, politicians, and intellectuals. Among the best known are '' Lust for Life'' (1934), about the l ...

. It is a

biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fict ...

about the psychiatrist

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 ...

and covers his life from when he was a student to when he is forced to leave Austria to escape the growing influence of the Nazis. It covers many aspects of the subject's life, including his hospital work, his relationship with his parents, his marriage to Martha Bernays, and his support for his successor,

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 ...

. The book is notable for going into great detail of Freud's theories, especially the

Oedipus Complex The Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) is an idea in psychoanalytic theory. The complex is an ostensibly universal phase in the life of a young boy in which, to try to immediately satisfy basic desires, he unconsciously wishes to hav ...

. Irving Stone is best renowned for his several biographical novels, the best known being '' Lust for Life'' and '' The Agony and the Ecstasy'' (about the artists

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

and Michelangelo, respectively), which were both adapted into major Hollywood productions. Though less well known, ''Passions of the Mind'' was an American bestseller upon its release, spending 13 weeks at the top of the ''New York Times'' Bestseller List (fiction) in the spring of 1971, and nearly 30 weeks in the top 15. John Bear, ''The #1 ''New York Times'' Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 ''New York Times'' bestsellers since the first list, 50 years ago'', Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1992. p. 115

References

1971 novels Books about Sigmund Freud Doubleday (publisher) books Cultural depictions of Sigmund Freud Cultural depictions of Carl Jung Novels by Irving Stone {{science-bio-book-stub