Freud was fascinated by the mysteries of creativity and the imagination. The groundbreaking works that comprise The Uncanny present some of his most influential explorations of the mind. In these pieces Freud investigates the vivid but seemingly trivial childhood memories that often ""screen"" deeply uncomfortable desires; the links between literature and daydreaming; and our intensely mixed feelings about things we experience as ""uncanny."" Also included is Freud's celebrated study of Leonardo Da Vinci-his first exercise in psychobiography.

""[Freud] ultimately did more for our understanding of art than any other writer since Aristotle."" (Lionel Trilling)