Brendan McMahon

First, I have to say this is a wonderful title for a book, encouraging the reader to delve inside the covers. The author here looks primarily at Irish and Welsh mythical narratives with his psychotherapist's eye, seeking for ways in which these old tales can help modern patients make sense of their own dilemmas.

Though Irish tales dominate his study, British stories put in an appearance, including some Welsh Arthurian narratives. The text is critical of aspects of classic Freudian analysis, and here I wish McMahon's concluding chapter, which encapsulates his approach, had begun the book. Some stimulating ideas are here, even for those unsympathetic with Freudian theory, so I will only mention a couple of niggles. First up are the typos – I can't believe that there wasn't time to proofread the text before publishing – and secondly I was disappointed that the striking cover was not really as representative of Mis, the princess of the title, as I expected.

The final word must go to the author: "The fact is that the psychological complexity of the tales, with their rich interplay between the internal, interpersonal and social worlds, debars any simple reductionist interpretation, Freudian or otherwise." Amen to that, I say.

http://wp.me/s2oNj1-princess… (mer)