ABSTRACT
The library is Agnes Richter's favorite room, with its leather-lined shelves, pillows on the couches for members who wish to nap after lunch, and death mask of Napoleon. John Custance turns out to be a man worthy of two distinct personas. As Harry Greenwood, the Nazi sympathizer and Brooks's member, he's fairly typical of his social class, his upbringing, and his historical moment. But as John Custance, donning the mantle of lunacy to write a major work of psychological theory, he's a unique figure. Despite the privileges of his class, however, Custance wrote in isolation. He had no colleagues with whom to exchange ideas. There was no movement to which he could contribute, no organization he could join where like-minded people might read and critique his books. His background gave him the contacts to get people like C. G. Jung and L. W. Grensted to answer his letters, but he had no way of participating in the broader psychological community.
