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Susan Isaacs: A Life Freeing the Minds of Children - cover image

Copyright

Philip Graham

Published On

2023-03-07

ISBN

Paperback978-1-80064-715-2
Hardback978-1-80064-716-9
PDF978-1-80064-717-6
HTML978-1-80064-721-3
XML978-1-80064-720-6
EPUB978-1-80064-718-3
AZW3978-1-80064-719-0

Language

  • English

Print Length

382 pages (xxviii+354)

Dimensions

Paperback156 x 26 x 234 mm(6.14" x 1.02" x 9.21")
Hardback156 x 30 x 234 mm(6.14" x 1.18" x 9.21")

Weight

Paperback538g (18.98oz)
Hardback716g (25.26oz)

OCLC Number

741968808

LCCN

2021385333

BIC

  • BG
  • PDX
  • JM
  • JNC
  • BGT
  • JN
  • JNF
  • YQJ

BISAC

  • BIO000000
  • BIO022000
  • SCI075000
  • BIO032000
  • EDU009000
  • SOC026040

LCC

  • BF109.I75

Keywords

  • Susan Isaacs
  • biography
  • educationist
  • psychoanalyst

Susan Isaacs

A Life Freeing the Minds of Children

  • Philip Graham (author)
This revised and expanded edition of Susan Isaacs: A Life Freeing the Minds of Children by Philip Graham, provides a comprehensive biography of a highly influential educationist and psychoanalyst. The book covers Isaacs’ childhood through to the end of her life, making it of great interest to historians of British education and of psychoanalysis as well as to practicing early years teachers and psychoanalysts.

Graham describes the origins of the theories behind Isaacs’ work while also placing her contribution into context with other contemporary educationists. He draws on a range of sources including her own published and unpublished papers, multiple archives and intimate letters. Such wealth of information and anecdotes gives an insight into her childhood, marriage, and career creating a deeper understanding of both Isaacs’ personal life and her achievements.

As only the second biography on Isaacs, this book is a valuable resource that shines a light on the life of a figure who has often been neglected in this field of study. It provides a shift away from the various male-dominated accounts currently prevalent within this area of research. Susan Isaacs is crucial reading to raise our awareness and appreciation of the person behind the work, while also highlighting and celebrating the impact she has made on today’s education and psychoanalytic practice.

Reviews

Philip Graham has three great strengths which make him an accomplished biographer, all of which are evident in this book.

First, he is a talented storyteller with the ability to produce a very readable text in which he brings his characters to life so that the reader feels able to get to know and understand them.

Second, he is a meticulous researcher with an eye for detail. For this book he has explored in depth the life stories of all the key figures, and some of the more peripheral ones, and, where possible, has been in personal communication with some of those involved. And he provides a huge amount of useful background information, including, for example, the position of Jews in British society in the early years of the 20th century (pp75-77).

Last, but by no means least, he has the ability to convey complex ideas in terms which make them accessible to the general reader. He explains, for example: the theories behind psychoanalysis (pp 63-67); the ideas expressed in Susan Isaacs’ An Introduction to Psychology (pp77-81); the work and theories of Piaget (pp146-149); and the conflicting ideas about psychoanalysis, especially analysis of children (chapter 8). His account of the development of child-centred education (chapter 5) is probably the best I have ever read.

Derek Gillard

FORUM, vol. 65, no. 3, doi:10.3898/forum.2023.65.3.21

Full Review

Additional Resources

[blog]Susan Isaacs: Second Edition

A blog by author Philip Graham on his latest Open Access title 'Susan Isaacs: A Life Freeing the Minds of Children'.

Contents

Preface

(pp. ix–xiv)
  • Philip Graham

Preface to Second Edition

(pp. xv–xvi)
  • Philip Graham

Introduction

(pp. xvii–xxviii)
  • Philip Graham

1. Damaged Roots

(pp. 1–25)
  • Philip Graham

2. Our Star Student

(pp. 25–42)
  • Philip Graham

3. An Academic Marriage

(pp. 43–92)
  • Philip Graham

4. Finding A Place on the Couch

(pp. 63–92)
  • Philip Graham

5. The Malting House School: A Dream Becomes Reality

(pp. 93–110)
  • Philip Graham

6. Rise and Fall of The Malting House School

(pp. 111–138)
  • Philip Graham

7. Resurfacing

(pp. 139–160)
  • Philip Graham

8. Settled on the Couch

(pp. 161–184)
  • Philip Graham

9. The Wisdom of Ursula Wise

(pp. 185–210)
  • Philip Graham

10. Teaching the Teachers

(pp. 211–230)
  • Philip Graham

11. Psychoanalysis in the 1930s: Building up to War

(pp. 231–286)
  • Philip Graham

12. Battling for the Minds of Children

(pp. 259–286)
  • Philip Graham

13. Legacies

(pp. 287–312)
  • Philip Graham

14. Postscript

(pp. 313–332)
  • Philip Graham

Contributors

Philip Graham

(author)
Emeritus Professor of Child Psychiatry at University College London

Philip Graham is Emeritus Professor of Child Psychiatry, University College, London. Before retirement, he was a consultant in child psychiatry at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London. Other positions he has held include Dean of the Institute of Child Health, London, President of the European Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Consultant Adviser in Child Mental Health to the World Health Organisation, Chair of the National Children’s Bureau, Chair of the Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Chair of Dignity in Dying. He has published a large number of articles and books in his professional field as well as books of wider interest including a biography of another educationist, Susan Isaacs.