Storr was, as one of his obituarists observed, "no stranger to suffering at formative stages of his life."[1] He married twice, to Catherine Cole (who became a children's writer under her married name) in 1942 and writer Catherine Peters in 1970 after the first marriage ended in divorce.[4]
In his books, Storr explored the secrets of the dark sides of the human psyche – sexual deviations (Sexual Deviation, 1964), aggression (Human Aggression, 1968), and destructiveness (Human Destructiveness, 1972). At the same time, he saw the possibility of creative use of these spontaneous drives and directing them towards sports, scientific and artistic feats (The Dynamics of Creation, 1972).[2][4]
In his book Music and the Mind, Storr explores various theories on the origins of music.[5]
In chapter 3 of the book Storr writes:
Although music is sometimes referred to as a universal language, this is an entirely misleading description. The difficulty of appreciating music from different periods of history or from different cultures is a powerful argument in favour of the view that the various types of music are predominantly cultural artefacts rather than based on natural phenomena.[6]
In his final book Feet of Clay; Saints, Sinners, and Madmen: The Power and Charisma of Gurus (1996) Storr tracks typical patterns, often involving psychotic disorders that shape the development of the guru.[7] He challenges Jesus' mental health by implying that there are psychological similarities between crazy "messiahs" such as Jim Jones, David Koresh, and respected religious leaders, including Jesus.[4] His study is an attempt to look at Jesus as one of many gurus.[8]
^Fordham, Michael (1998). Hobdell, Roger (ed.). Freud, Jung, Klein-- the Fenceless Field: Essays on Psychoanalysis and Analytical Psychology. London: Routledge. ISBN978-0-415186155.
