Arguably the world's most famous diarist, Anaïs Nin drew much of her acclaim from her shocking accounts of artistic and sexual self-exploration within the avant-garde worlds of Paris, New York, and Hollywood. But who was this woman whose peccadilloes led to relationships of bigamy and incest, who freely offered her body and her husband's money to some of the most brilliant men of her era - including Henry Miller and Edmund Wilson and Otto Rank - whose desperate cravings for love, recognition, and approval from the intellectual elite remained unsatisfied until the end of her life? Deirdre Bair, who had exclusive access to Nin's complete, original diary and the full cooperation of her surviving husband, family, and friends, offers an enthralling portrait of a complex, perplexing writer whose most compelling subject was, unfailingly, herself.