Peter Joffre Swales (5 June 1948 – 15 April 2022) was a Welsh "guerilla historian of

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

and former assistant to the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

".Boynton, Robert S., "Peter Swales, Malcolm’s Uncalled Witness: A Profile of Peter Swales," ''The New York Observer'', May 24, 1993.
/ref> He called himself "the punk historian of psychoanalysis","Peter Swales, former assistant to the Rolling Stones said to have discovered Sigmund Freud's guilty secret — obituary," ''Telegraph Obituaries'', 6 May 2022.
/ref> and he is well known for his essays on

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

. A 1998 article in ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'' noted his "remarkable detective work over the last 25 years, revealing the true identities of several early patients of Freud's who had been known only by their pseudonyms." Talbot, Margaret
"The Museum Show Has An Ego Disorder," ''The New York Times'', October 11, 1998
/ref> He is one of three men (the others are Freud Archives director Kurt R. Eissler and writer—and erstwhile Projects Director of the Freud Archives— Jeffrey Masson) whose machinations are described in

Janet Malcolm Janet Clara Malcolm (born Jana Klara Wienerová; July 8, 1934 – June 16, 2021) was an American writer, staff journalist at ''The New Yorker'' magazine, and collagist who fled antisemitic persecution in Nazi-occupied Prague. She was the author ...

's 1984 book ''In the Freud Archives'', which originated as two articles in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' magazine that provoked Masson to file an unsuccessful $10 million libel suit against the magazine and Malcolm. Swales "became notorious when, in 1981, he maintained that Freud had had a secret affair with his wife

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

’s younger sister Minna Bernays ... and had arranged for her to have an abortion after she became pregnant". In 1995, Swales sent a petition, for which he had acquired nearly 50 signatories, to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

expressing concern that its planned Freud exhibition was not sufficiently critical of Freud — that it did not "suitably portray the present status of knowledge and adequately reflect the full spectrum of informed opinion about the status of Freud's contribution to intellectual history." Following the petition, the Library postponed the exhibition, invited Freud critics to participate, and opened the exhibition in 1998. In 1998, Swales discovered the true identity of the pseudonymous "Sybil", who was alleged to have had

multiple personalities Multiplicity, also called plurality or polypsychism, is an online subculture of people identifying as having or using multiple personalities, or as having multiple people occupying one mind and body. Multiplicity communities mostly exist online ...

. Swales died at his home near

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, Turkey on 15 April 2022, where he had lived since 2007. He had moved there from

Mott Street Mott Street () is a narrow but busy thoroughfare that runs in a north–south direction in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It is regarded as Chinatown, Manhattan, Chinatown's unofficial "Main Street". Mott Stre ...

lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

, where he had lived for the previous 35 years. Genzlinger, Neil
"Peter Swales, Who Startled Freud Scholarship, Dies at 73," ''The New York Times'', April 21, 2022
/ref> He died from "a short illness and infection." He is survived by his wife Julia and by his two sisters, Patricia Barker Swales and Freda Swales.

Swales's publications

*Peter J. Swales, "Freud, Minna Bernays, and the Conquest of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

: New Light on the Origins of Psychoanalysis," ''The New American Review'' (Spring/Summer 1982), pp. 1–23. *Peter J. Swales, "A Fascination with

Witches Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

tales of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

altered the course of psychoanalysis," ''The Sciences'', vol. 22, no. 8 (November 1982), pp. 21–25. *Peter J. Swales
"The Freud Archives,"
'

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'', October 24, 1985 (letter to the editor). *Peter J. Swales, "Freud, His Teacher, and the Birth of Psychoanalysis," ''Freud: Appraisals and Reappraisals, Contributions to Freud Studies, Volume 1'', edited by Paul Stepansky, Hillsdale, N.J.: The Analytic Press, 1986. *Peter J. Swales, "Freud, Katharina, and the First 'Wild Analysis,'" ''Freud: Appraisals and Reappraisals, Contributions to Freud Studies, Volume 3'', edited by Paul Stepansky, Hillsdale, N.J.: The Analytic Press, 1988. *Peter J. Swales, "Freud's Master Hysteric," ''Unauthorized Freud: Doubters Confront a Legend'', edited by Frederick C. Crews, New York: Viking Penguin, 1988. *Peter J. Swales
"Protecting Freud's Image From Sigmund,"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' (May 8, 1988) (review of Gay, Peter, '' Freud: A Life for Our Time'', New York: W. W. Norton, 1988). *Peter J. Swales, "Freud,

Cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

, and Sexual Chemistry: The Role of Cocaine in Freud's Conception of the

Libido In psychology, libido (; ) is psychic drive or energy, usually conceived of as sexual in nature, but sometimes conceived of as including other forms of desire. The term ''libido'' was originally developed by Sigmund Freud, the pioneering origin ...

," ''Sigmund Freud: Critical Assessments'', London and New York: Routledge, Laurence Spurling, ed., vol. 1 (1989), pp. 273–301. *Peter J. Swales, "Freud, Fliess, and

Fratricide Fratricide (; – the assimilated root of 'to kill, cut down') is the act of killing one's own brother. It can either be done directly or via the use of either a hired or an indoctrinated intermediary (an assassin). The victim need not be ...

: The Role of Fliess in Freud's Conception of Paranoia," ''Sigmund Freud: Critical Assessments'', London and New York: Routledge, Laurence Spurling, ed., vol. 1 (1989), pp. 302–330. *Peter J. Swales, "Freud, Johann Weier, and the Status of Seduction: The Role of the

Witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

in the Conception of Fantasy," ''Sigmund Freud: Critical Assessments'', London and New York: Routledge, Laurence Spurling, ed., vol. 1 (1989), pp. 331–358. *Peter J. Swales, "Freud, Krafft-Ebing, and the Witches: The Role of Krafft-Ebing in Freud's Flight into Fantasy," ''Sigmund Freud: Critical Assessments'', London and New York: Routledge, Laurence Spurling, ed., vol. 1 (1989), pp. 359–365. *Peter J. Swales
"Reading Freud"
''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', Issue 4557, August 3, 1990, p. 823 (letter to the editor). *Peter J. Swales, "What

Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of over 20 books, illustrator, and correspondent, Jung was a c ...

Didn't Say," ''Harvest: Journal for Jungian Studies'', vol. 38 (1992), pp. 30–37. *Peter J. Swales
"Once a cigar, always a cigar,"
''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'', vol. 378 (2 November 1995), pp. 107–108 (review of Webster, Richard, '' Why Freud Was Wrong: Sin, Science and Psychoanalysis'', HarperCollins/Basic Books, 1995). *Peter J. Swales, "Freud, Filthy Lucre, and Undue Influence," ''Review of Existential Psychology & Psychiatry'', vol. XXIII, nos. 1, 2, & 3 (1997), pp. 115–141. *Peter J. Swales, "Freud, Death and Sexual Pleasures: On the Psychical Mechanism of Dr. Sigm. Freud," ''Arc de Cercle'', vol. 1, no. 1 (January 2003), pp. 5-74. *Malcolm Macmillan and Peter J. Swales, "Observations from the Refuse-Heap: Freud, Michelangelo's ''Moses'', and

Psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

," '' American Imago'', vol. 60, no. 1 (Spring 2003)
JSTOR

Foreign language articles

*Peter J. Swales, "Quel che Freud non disse", in ''La Sessualità: Da Dove Viene L'Oriente Dove Va L'Occidente''. ''Spirali/Vel'', 1985. *Peter J. Swales, "Brief Eines Landarztes". ''Werkblatt'', Jg.4, No. 1/2 – 1987. *Peter J. Swales, "Freud e il medico di campagna," in ''La Cifra: pensiero, scrittura, proposte — Sessualità e intelligenza'', I, Spirali/Vel, 1988, pp. 172-174. *Klaus Kamolz und Peter J. Swales, "Die verflixten Sieben Jahre:

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

, ihre Passion für Sigmund Freud und ihre Behandlung durch die Weiner Schule der Psychoanalyse". ''profil'', No. 28, 6 July 1992.

Articles online at ''Histories of Psychoanalysis''

The following otherwise unpublished articles and letters by Swales appear in ''Histories of Psychoanalysis'':HomeWritings
/ref> * Burroughs in the bewilderness: The haunted mind and psychoanalyses of

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

(1993–1994) * Ecce Sigi: What Freud ''didn't'' say (2003) * Freud, Breuer, & the blessed virgin (1986) * Freud, filthy lucre, and undue influence (1997) * Freud, Prof. Diogenes Teufelsdröckh, and the Garden of Eden (1988) * In statu nascendi: Freud, Minna Bernays, and the creation of Herr Aliquis (1998) * Psychoanalysis, arrivisme, & the new world (2008/2012) * Swales to Peter Gay, 1 July 1988 * Verdiglione, Strømme, e la Forza del Destino: An exemplary and a cautionary tale (1990) * Viper in the Grass, Vultures in the Sky: Dr. Kurt R. Eissler, a Dying Patient, & the

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Dynasty (2010/2012) * What's the problem? — A quiz (2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swales, Peter 1948 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Welsh historians People from Haverfordwest

Swales's publications

Foreign language articles

Articles online at ''Histories of Psychoanalysis''

Further reading

References