Anais Nin: 28 books

Stella, a little-known work written by Anais Nin in 1945, is an examination of self-discovery and self-worth, a theme central to much of her fiction. The title character is loosely based on actress Luise Rainer, with whom Nin had a contentious friendship. Stella is faced with the contrast between...

The Four-Chambered Heart, Anais Nin's third title in the Cities of the Interior series of novels, is one of Nin's most compelling books, with well-defined characters (Djuna, Rango, and Zora), rhythmic waves of tension, and a powerful climax. Based on Nin's own relationship with the Peruvian radical...

Anais Nin's second work of fiction, The Winter of Artifice, was, according to Nin, her only banned book. Published in France in 1939, it consisted of 3 novellas, each of which fictionalized an important event in Nin's life: her affair with Henry and June Miller ("Hans and Johanna"), her...

Anais Nin's first book, published in 1932 by Edward Titus in Paris, was a critical examination of the work of controversial British author D. H. Lawrence. Of all the books written about Lawrence, his widow Frieda said this one "was the best." Nin was inspired to do the book after Lawrence...

Originally published in book form in 1954, this authoritative edition of Anais Nin's A Spy in the House of Love contains Nin's introduction, character descriptions, publishing history, and an author's chronology. A Spy in the House of Love contains some of Nin's best poetic prose. The main...

Often considered Anais Nin's finest work of fiction, this collection of short stories was self-published by Nin with an old-fashioned hand press in 1944. Among the titles are "Houseboat," "The Mouse," "The Labyrinth," and "Birth."

The House of Incest, Anais Nin's famous prose poem, was first published in Paris in 1936 and immediately drew attention from the era's prominent writers, including Henry Miller and Lawrence Durrell. While written in English, it is considered a landmark work in the French surrealist tradition and one of the most unique books in 20th century literature.

Children of the Albatross is considered by critics to be one of Anaïs Nin’s most beautifully written books; it is also a groundbreaker in that it eloquently addresses androgyny and homosexuality, which few literary works dared to do in 1940s America. We are introduced to three of Nin’s most significant...

Seduction of the Minotaur is an example of Anaïs Nin’s most mature and cohesive fiction. The central character, Lillian, arrives in exotically primitive Mexico from New York, in part to forget her crumbling marriage and to find flow in her life after years of stasis. She befriends Dr. Hernandez,...

Ladders to Fire, Anaïs Nin’s first full-length novel, was revolutionary in that it addressed woman’s role in a male-dominated world in the mid-1940s. Through her iconic characters Lillian, Djuna, and Sabina, and their relationship with Jay, Nin was able to examine “the destruction in woman…woman’s...

Collages is Anaïs Nin’s last work of fiction, and is, as the title suggests, a collection of interwoven stories, opening and closing with the passage: “Vienna was the city of statues. They were as numerous as the people who walked the streets. They stood on the top of the highest towers, lay...

LONG BEFORE SHE BECAME FAMOUS for her Diary, Anaïs Nin fought a lonely battle to give America emotional, poetic fiction. During the 1940s and 1950s, her most productive period, she was either ignored by the American literary establishment or subjected to outright hostility. But she had a reputation...

Anaïs Nin et ses amis, membres de l'" Organisation " écrivent pour un dollar par page ce livre très coquin, destiné au milliardaire Roy Melisander. Sur sa demande, le collectif décide de ne pas s'embarrasser " de la philosophie et des analyses ", et fait l'apologie de l'acte...

Collection of short stories written by Ms. Nin and some her friends written for Roy Johnson back in the '40s. (Johnson paid 1 a page for private smut... Henry Miller also wrote for him.) Contains six stories and a brief guide to lovemaking, for no apparent reason. One of the tales is definitely by Nin.