A review by beyadob
Freud's Couch, Scott's Buttocks, Bronte's Grave by Simon Goldhill

4.0

A delightful read on authors and the places they lived in. It was enlightening and genuinely interesting to read about Wordsworth and Bronte's houses, especially in the way they so deeply contrasted each other. Shakespeare's house was an exercise in "packaged heritage" and how "tacky" and commercialized the whole institution can be. Meanwhile, Sir Walter Scott's place was a great way of showing how a house can be manufactured around an author's identity and presence in the world. Finally, the author meditates on Freud's fascination in maintaining the same office in both Vienna and London. I felt this chapter was more personal for the author, and the analysis was good.

It's a quick read that explores how author's shape their houses and how their houses also shape their identity and their works.