What do Sissi, Emperess of Austria, Sophocle s Antigone, the philosopher Simone Weil and Saint Catherine of Sienna have in common, besides fame? Each of these women has refused to eat. Each has stood indomitable on the brink of death. Through a sequel of portraits, the authors, both psychoanalysts, lend an historical slant to their fascinating study of what we today call anorexia.