Jacques Lacan is now regarded as one of the major psychoanalytical theorists, although fierce arguments still rage over the complexity of his ideas.

A leading Lacanian analyst and author, Darian Leader guides the reader through Lacan’s early studies of paranoia to his subsequent analytical innovations – his addition of structural linguistics to Freudianism and his new ideas on the infant ‘mirror phase’, the construction of identity and the dynamics of the psyche.

It also makes clear that, although Lacan has become a major influence in literature, art, philosophy and feminism, his theories are not simply cultural intellectualizations but are rooted in clinical practice.

For anyone intrigued by Lacan’s ideas but discouraged by the difficulty of his writing, Darian Leader and Judy Groves’ book is the ideal introduction.