The lie detector: The man upon whom Sabina heaps her guilt. Inspired by the description of a detective by Nin’s friend Lila Rosenblum (see Diary 5).

Philip: Opera singer who has an affair with Sabina. Based on Edward Graeffe, a Viennese opera singer with whom Nin had an affair during the 1940s (see Mirages).

Mambo: African drummer, singer, mathematician, composer, writer, and proprietor of a nightclub; lover of Sabina. Based on Albert Mangones, a Haitian sculptor with whom Nin had an affair in the 1940s (see Mirages).

John: Young, guilt-ridden English aviator who has an affair with Sabina. Based on John Paanacker, a young man with whom Nin had a brief affair in 1946 (see Mirages).

Donald: Young man who perceives of Sabina as a mother, who helps her regain innocence, and who reminds her of John. Based at least partly on Bill Howell, Nin’s lover in the 1940s (see Mirages).

Djuna: Woman whose houseboat in France was used to transport coal during the war; compassionate, perceptive dancer who visits Mambo’s club. Based on what Nin called “the mystic Anaïs (see Mirages).

Jay: Artist whose painting reflects Sabina’s fragmented inner reality; reunited with Sabina in New York City after a seven-year separation following their affair in Paris. Based on Henry Miller (see Henry & June).

Lillian: Woman who had a relationship with Jay in Paris, then deserted him; gave a piano concert in Mexico City during a revolution. Composite character based on the aggressive, passionate aspect of Nin’s personality that was reflected in her friend Thurema Sokol (see Mirages).

Descriptions in part from Anaïs Nin Character Dictionary by Benjamin Franklin V

Publishing History

PUBLISHING HISTORY

A Spy in the House of Love was originally published in 1954 by British Book Centre, the printing cost of which Nin’s husband paid. It was republished as a paperback in 1957 by Avon and was Nin’s most popular book up to that point, selling over 100,000 copies. Spy was later collected into Cities of the Interior (Anaïs Nin Press, 1959; Swallow Press, 1974).

—Paul Herron, Editor

INTRODUCTION

The genesis of A Spy in the House of Love was that the interpretations of Don Juan always seemed over-simplified to me. I always felt there were more complex motivations behind sensual restlessness.

A story from real life concretized the design. It was the story of a friend who believed her father employed detectives to watch her life in New York among the artists. When her father became seriously ill and near death, she questioned him. He was entirely innocent. Then she realized that she had constantly imagined this, and that whenever anyone looked at her in the subway or in a bar or in a restaurant she had fantasized it was a detective. Why? The emotional detective story of this psychological drama began with the question why.