Anaïs Nin Books

Focusing on the creative process across various art forms, Anaïs Nin advocates for a poetic approach to novel writing as a response to the perceived sterility of mid-twentieth-century fiction. She synthesizes her insights with discussions on the hidden self, the genesis of fiction, and the interplay between diary writing and storytelling. Nin also reflects on her influences and the impact of her work on notable writers like D. H. Lawrence and Henry Miller, emphasizing the vital role of art in personal and artistic development.

Nin continues her debate on the use of drugs versus the artist's imagination, portrays many famous people in the arts, and recounts her visits to Sweden, the Brussels World's Fair, Paris, and Venice. "[Nin] looks at life, love, and art with a blend of gentility and acuity that is rare in contemporary writing" (John Barkham Reviews). Edited and with a Preface by Gunther Stuhlmann; Index.

Originally published in 1936, House of Incest is Anaïs Nin's first work of fiction. Based on Nin's dreams, the novel is a surrealistic look within the narrator's subconscious as she attempts to distance herself from a series of all-consuming and often taboo desires.

A charming and amusing view of Nin's early life, from age eleven to seventeen; the self-portrait of an innocent girl who is transformed, through her own insights, into an enlightened young woman. "An enchanting portrait of a girl's constant search for herself" (Library Journal). Preface by Joaquin Nin-Culmell; Index; photographs and drawings. Translated by Jean L. Sherman.

The author's experiences in Greenwich Village, where she defends young writers against the Establishment, and her trip across the country in an old Ford to California and Mexico. "[Nin is] one of the most extraordinary and unconventional writers of this century" (New York Times Book Review). Edited and with a Preface by Gunther Stuhlmann; Index.

The intimacy between Nin and Miller, first disclosed in Henry and June, is documented further in this impassioned exchange of letters between the two controversial writers. Edited and with an Introduction by Gunther Stuhlmann; Index.

Beginning with Nin's arrival in New York, this volume is filled with the stories of her analytical patients. There is a shift in emphasis also as Nin becomes aware of the inevitable choice facing the artist in the modern world. "Sensitive and frank...[Nin's] diary is a dialogue between flesh and spirit" (Newsweek). Edited and with a Preface by Gunther Stuhlmann; Index.

Mirages opens at the dawn of World War II, when Anais Nin fled Paris, where she lived for fifteen years with her husband, banker Hugh Guiler, and ends in 1947 when she meets the man who would be the One, the lover who would satisfy her insatiable hunger for connection.

The final volume ends as the author wished-not with her last two years of pain but at a joyous, reflective moment on a trip to Bali. "One of the most remarkable diaries in the history of letters" (Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times). Edited and with a Preface by Gunther Stuhlmann; Index; photographs.