It is hard to understand the cult of Ana's Nin as a diarist; she was self obsessed to the point of narcissism/megalomania, she lacked real judgment or insight where other people (especially writers) were concerned, and her literary style is commonplace to the point of bathos. However, her considerable conceit did not deter her from being a collector of celebrities, even if she rarely has much to say of lasting value about any of them. These early diaries start when her marriage to Hugh Guiler was breaking up, and end when she had already set up house with Henry Miller - a fitting mate. Freud and D.H. Lawrence were her twin prophets, and in fact her first published book was a study of the English novelist.