Dickens, Freud and the Making of David Copperfield

When I was 18 years old, I was an au pair in Vienna. It was a wonderful city in which to grow up before moving to university life in London. I was at an age when I was so thirsty for knowledge that I tried to read and visit and experience everything in the city. I still have vivid memories of the day I visited the Freud Museum, and of seeing a copy of David Copperfield on Freud’s bookshelves. I spoke to the curator about it, who told me that it was “Freud’s favourite book”. In reality (and my memory may be due to my own limitations in speaking German), I think that should be qualified to David Copperfield having been Freud’s favourite Dickens novel. Either way, it was a book that inspired Sigmund Freud and has created a lasting connection between the two men. This year, I was invited to give a talk at the Freud Museum in London to talk about Dickens and David Copperfield.