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‘Freud and Beyond: The Strange Life of Sándor Ferenczi’ Professor Benoit Peeters, author of 'Sándor Ferenczi: L'enfant terrible de la psychanalyse,' explores biography and psychoanalysis.

The story of Sándor Ferenczi(1873-1933) is, in some ways, that of a ‘beautiful loser.’ As a favourite disciple of Freud, he found himself in an almost oedipal father-son relationship, caught between a profound fascination for ‘father’ Freud and a powerful longing for intellectual independence. As a visionary therapist, ahead of his time in his understanding of child abuse, Ferenczi was often the victim of slander and rejection. Nevertheless, shuttling between Vienna and Budapest, even as the Austro-Hungarian empire dissolves, Ferenczi proves to be an essential witness of a turbulent era – one that begins with psychoanalysis and ends with the rise of Nazism.

Professor Peeters (Lancaster) is a novelist, graphic novelist, intellectual biographer, cultural historian and screen-writer.

He published his first novel, Omnibus, in 1976 (Les éditions de Minuit), followed by his second, La Bibliothèque de Villers, 1980.

An expert on Hergé, he has published both Tintin and the World of Hergé (Methuen) and Hergé‚ Son of Tintin (Johns Hopkins University Press). He also wrote the official biography of Jacques Derrida (2010). The book has been translated into English (Polity Press) and eight other languages.

A long association with the artist François Schuiten has led to the series of graphic novels called ‘The Obscure Cities’ (see http://www.altaplana.be). Sixteen volumes have appeared so far, with great success; they have won numerous prizes and have been translated into more than twelve languages. The Leaning Girl was recently published in the US by Alaxis Press. The Theory of the Grain of Sand will be published in December 2016 by IDW.

An enthusiast of narratives in all their forms, Benoît Peeters has also collaborated with the graphic artist Frédéric Boilet, the photographer Marie-Françoise Plissart, the musician Bruno Letort‚ the filmmakers Raoul Ruiz and Jaco Van Dormael.

His interest in cinema has increased over the years. He is the author of three short films as well as several documentaries. He directed one feature film‚ The Last Shot