Highly emotional yet not overwrought, Freud’s Mistress will appeal to readers who enjoy pop-historical novels about the women in the lives of prominent men, à la Loving Frank or The Paris Wife. Though there is no direct proof of an affair between Minna Bernays and Sigmund Freud, Mack and Kaufman do a fine job with the few known facts of the relationship between the two. Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman are the authors of two bestselling novels, Literacy and Longing in L.A.

The authors capture the atmosphere of fin-de-siècle Vienna - a world ripe with the possibility of change. Freud’s Mistress is a fictionalized account of the love affair the controversial psychiatrist had with Minna Bernays, his wife’s sister, who moved in with the family in Vienna in 1895 and. Minna’s guilt over the illicit affair threatens to destroy her, but she can’t seem to leave Freud - until he leaves her.įreud’s Mistress is a fascinating exploration of the bonds of sisterhood, the destructiveness of obsessive love, and the toll that they take on one woman. She soon finds herself drawn into Freud’s circle, first as a sounding board for some of his more radical ideas, then as his lover. After being dismissed from yet another position for being too empathetic, Minna arrives at her sister’s house, ostensibly to help take care of the children. Sigmund Freud, a rising star in the new science of psychiatry, and the mother of their six children. While Minna has bounced from house to house as a servant, Martha enjoys a comfortable life as the wife to Dr. Editions for Freud's Mistress: 0399163077 (Hardcover published in 2013), (Paperback published in 2014), (Kindle Edition published in 2013), 0425270025 (P. Minna Bernays has always played second fiddle to her older sister, Martha. Karen Mack is a film and television producer who has won Golden Globe and Emmy awards.

Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack