Sigmund Freud and Harriet Cohen: A Very International Reputation:

UH223

The course explores two key Jewish figures of the early 20th century whose careers made an impact far beyond the boundaries of their countries. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis is probably the greatest scientist not to have been awarded a Nobel Prize. Concert pianist Harriet Cohen’s legacy to the music world was far-reaching but has never been recognized. Without her, many loved pieces of classical music from British and European composers would never have been written.

Week 1: Sigmund Freud: the man behind the genius

Books abound on Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis as well as his own significant body of writings. His reputation has reached almost mythological status, yet in the public consciousness nothing is really known of Freud ‘the man’. This session presents an intimate portrait of the man behind the genius and describes how this most famous of families became exiled.

Week 2: “Finae Austria”: Freud and his family’s Escape from Vienna

Despite his worldwide reputation as the father of modern psychology, Sigmund Freud’s security in his native Vienna changed overnight when Hitler’s forces annexed Austria in March 1938. The Nazis carried out regular raids on Jewish families’ homes, and the Freud family was no exception. Sigmund Freud’s own response was to throw himself into completing his last seminal work “Moses and Monotheism”.

It was after becoming refugees, however, that the Freuds’ story takes a fascinating turn. Using previously unpublished family archives, including correspondence and Sigmund Freud’s diary, this session opens a window onto the Freuds’ family life in pre-war Vienna and after their escape.

Week 3: Harriet Cohen: Music’s Mistress, Men’s Muse?

Albert Einstein called her ‘The Beloved Piano-Witch’. Many famous men were besotted by her…. Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Harriet Cohen was both beautiful and talented and became a household name in the 1920s and 30s. At the heart of this first biography is an epic love story between Harriet and the only man she ever truly loved – composer and married man Arnold Bax. They embarked on a turbulent forty-year path of love, lust and betrayal. Harriet became the inspiration and mouthpiece for many of Bax’s new works, some of which were dedicated to her and which she premiered in concert halls in Britain and abroad. Their relationship seemed invincible and indestructible.

Week 4: Harriet Cohen: Beauty an Achilles heel?

Harriet Cohen’s beauty brought many famous men to their knees, including 2 British Prime Ministers who were counted amongst her many lovers. Proud of her Jewishness and Englishness, she was a personality with great wit and a conversationalist whose friends included George Bernard Shaw; D.H. Lawrence, Arnold Bennett and HG Wells, Elgar and Vaughan Williams. DH Lawrence immortalised her in Kangaroo. Harriet was an activist in the early foundation of the State of Israel and a close personal friend of Chaim Weizmann, the first President of Israel. In spite of fulfillment in her career and friendships, personal happiness seemed to elude her.

Week 5: Memoir and Biography: An art in Writing

Through the lives of Sigmund Freud and Harriet Cohen, this week’s session will examine how one captures the lives of famous people in a single work or autobiography. It will also explore the wider issues of how we record memoir and biography, whether our own or those of others. What resources, tips and skills can be brought together for people wishing to write a book themselves?

You might also be interested in Helen Fry's earlier course on Agents, Spies and British Intelligence. Click here for more info.