"A remarkably concentrated biography deals smartly with his social relations, the women in his life, his conflicts with relatives and servants and the famously enervating custody battle over his nephew." Arthur Kaptainis, The Gazette
Beethoven's extraordinary ability to compose great music despite severe health problems, including deafness and depression, has puzzled and inspired. In Diagnosing Genius François Martin Mai looks at the relationship between Beethoven's health and creativity to show how the composer was able to transcend physical and emotional torment to produce some of the most powerful and beautiful music in Western culture.
Mai's experience as a physician and psychiatrist serves as a basis for his analysis. Working from the symptoms described in the medical evidence, Beethoven's letters and those of his friends, and the reports of his physicians, Mai compares how Beethoven's health complaints would have been understood and treated within the medical, political, and social climate of both his time and ours. He discusses Beethoven's terminal illness and the resulting autopsy report to consider the roles of alcohol, lead poisoning (based on the toxic levels in his hair), and syphilis in causing his death.
Diagnosing Genius also analyses the psychology of creativity. Mai shows that even though Beethoven's infirmities led to physical pain, isolation, and torturous relationships, they enhanced, perhaps even fed, his genius and suggests that other artists may have overcome similar problems.
Review quotes
"Mai -- who writes in a clear, easy-to-read style that does not bog down in medical jargon -- has a lot of source material to work with here. Clearly, the author is up to the task of addressing this big question for the non-medical audience." Quill & Quire
"This holistic exposition from the point of view of a medical/psychiatric professional is a real contribution to Beethoven studies. Those interested in Beethoven's life will derive value from Mai's review of medical knowledge in the composer's lifetime and of particular (now obsolete) treatments." Clara Marvin, music, Queen's University
"Musicians and physicians will find the book intriguing and provocative." A. L. Padjen, director, I Medici de McGill Orchestra, pharmacology and therapeutics, McGill University
“Mai’s interpretation reveals a deep reverence for the composer, one which will brook no opposition to Beethoven’s claim to eminence. Mai’s careful research is a worthy addition to the genre of medical biography.” Caroline Essex, University College London
"Diagnosing Genius: The Life and Death of Beethoven will strike a chord with anyone interested in music, medical history, medical mystery, and the connection between creativity and disease. Bravo!" JAMA
“Diagnosing Genius is not only exhaustively researched and authoritatively written, it also provides an extraordinary snapshot of the world of medicine during Beethoven's life, composed in layman's terms that will appeal to an enormously wide audience.” British Journal of Psychiatry
François Martin Mai is a medical adviser, human resources and social development, Government of Canada, a psychiatric consultant at Ottawa Hospital, and a professor of psychiatry, University of Ottawa. He is also an amateur pianist. He lives in Ottawa.
