Soul Magic : A Century of Psychotherapy - Steve Ayan
Steve Ayan
- Pages · 352 pages
- Publication Date · 23/04/2026
- Genre · Biography: general
MEET THE SOUL MAGICIANS WHO FIRST TRIED TO UNCOVER THE MYSTERY OF THE UNCONSCIOUS.
It's the beginning of the twentieth century, and members of the Wednesday Circle hurry through Vienna's darkening streets. Dr. Freud does not tolerate lateness, and the men invited to join his new society sense they are on the brink of something momentous. In his study, through a haze of cigar smoke, these early psychoanalysts alight on a profound and shocking idea that will alter modern life: the existence of the psyche.
In this entertaining history, psychologist Steve Ayan introduces the twentieth-century visionaries who ignited a revolution of the mind. It is a story of breakthroughs in the treatment of mental illness, but also of dubious dream interpretations, affairs with patients, and feuding factions. At a moment when therapy has become a cultural commonplace, Ayan offers a captivating portrait of the figures behind these pioneering theories, from Melanie Klein to Carl Jung.
Blending immersive storytelling with rigorous research, Soul Magic returns us to the origins of psychotherapy and the thinkers who first pulled back the curtain on the mysterious forces at work within us all.PRAISE FOR SOUL MAGIC:
'Evocative storytelling. . . invites us to reconsider the legendary who shaped our talking cure' Julia Bueno, author of Everyone's a Critic
'A brilliant writer' Tages Anzieger
'Captivating. . . Enriched with numerous historical images' MDR Wissen
'Tells the story so richly'Deutschlandfunk Kultur
Only at Gulp Fiction
Book Lovers' Happy Hour
An hour and a half at the bar, with three cocktails matched to your taste and three books chosen for you. Tell us what you like when you book, and we'll have them waiting when you arrive.
- 1½ hours
- £60 per person
- 3 cocktails, 3 books
Up to four of you can come — book a place each and choose the same time slot, then tell us who you're with. For larger groups, email gulpfictionbooks@gmail.com and we'll arrange it.
Collect in store
Order online and pick it up from the shop. It's free, and usually quicker than the post.
Find us
Units 28–29, Covered Market, Oxford OX1 3DU. Mon–Wed 10–5, Thu–Sat 10–10, Sun 11–4.
Book a table
The bar is open late Thursday to Saturday. Reserve a table for a drink among the books.