ABSTRACT
Considering that Joan never worked with children, three of her most famous patients did just that. This chapter describes Riviere’s work with them. Susan Isaacs had a distinguished academic career and became the headmistress of the Malting House School, which was run on psychoanalytic lines. The school descended into Lord of the Flies chaos. Isaacs was relieved by the clarity of her analysis. Donald Winnicott’s first analysis with James Strachey was marked by his delays in paying his fees. Winnicott wanted to go to Klein, but she wanted him to analyse her son Erich. She referred him to Joan. Once again, Winnicott evaded paying a proper fee. Joan took a firm grip on his attempts to devalue her. Joan’s most troublesome patient was John Bowlby, who was reluctant to allow her to feel she had helped him. The chapter also includes an account of the horrific violence in Germany and Austria, and Freud’s flight to England with his family.
