The Early Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1927–1931
The diary volume that records this book being written.
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D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study
by Anaïs Nin
Her first book: a defense of Lawrence written in sixteen days, published in Paris in 1932 — the door her whole literary life walked through.
- 1932
About Anaïs Nin
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeNin's first published book was criticism: a short, fervent study of D. H. Lawrence, written in a burst in 1931 and published in Paris by Edward Titus in 1932, two years after Lawrence's death, when defending him still took nerve. The 'unprofessional' of the title is a flag, not an apology — she reads Lawrence as a fellow practitioner of instinct, the first sustained case for him as a novelist of feeling rather than a scandal. The book changed her life on a technicality: her publisher's circle led to the lawyer Osborn, and through him to Henry Miller. (Criticism — nothing to spoil.)
The story, in more detail
The apprentice diarist of the early volumes ends and the public writer begins here. Written at Louveciennes in roughly sixteen days, the study argues what was then a minority position: that Lawrence — dead in 1930, notorious for Lady Chatterley — was a serious artist of the interior life, and that his readers of scandal had missed his readers' book. Nin's method is the one her fiction would use: sympathetic entry rather than judgment, the critic as medium.
Edward Titus published it in Paris in 1932 in a small edition, and its consequences outran its sales. The Lawrence connection gave Nin her first literary identity, and the book's circle of introductions led directly to the meeting at Louveciennes that opens the famous Diary. Reprinted decades later by Swallow, it remains the earliest published evidence of the sensibility the diary was privately rehearsing.
What's inside
A short study in Nin's intuitive mode: chapters on Lawrence's treatment of instinct and the unconscious, his women characters — whom she reads with particular authority — his prose rhythms, and the religious seriousness beneath the scandals. Less analysis than advocacy: the book's argument is that Lawrence must be read from inside his method, and its demonstration is Nin doing exactly that.
Themes and analysis
Sixteen days at Louveciennes
The study opens by asking its reader to bring intellect, imagination and bodily feeling into the same act of attention. Nin does not simply replace thought with instinct: she opposes the isolation of any one faculty as a sufficient way into Lawrence's writing. Her image of reading as a voyage makes the critic a participant whose understanding must move with the work. That invitation explains something of the book's advocacy. Its demand is not merely that Lawrence be approved, but that readers change how they approach his prose.
The first book comes off a Paris press
In The Background, Nin traces a change in what landscape does, moving from The White Peacock through Sons and Lovers to Twilight in Italy. Description does not disappear as her account progresses; its relation to feeling becomes more important. A setting can remain visibly rich while also taking part in the inner movement of a work. This is a practical demonstration of her critical method: she follows the changing function of a familiar element rather than measuring every book against the same expectation of realistic scenery. Symbolism enlarges description instead of simply abandoning it.
Why we recommend it
The first book
The public debut of the sensibility the early diaries rehearse — criticism as self-portrait.
Early on the right side
A defense of Lawrence's seriousness written when it was still a minority position.
The hinge of the story
Without this book, no Osborn, no Miller at Louveciennes, and a different Diary entirely.
What this book explores
Timeline
1931
Written in a roughly sixteen-day burst at Louveciennes, from her Lawrence immersion of the period.
1932
Edward Titus publishes the study in Paris; its introductions lead toward the Miller meeting.
1964
Swallow Press reissues Nin’s early study, bringing the Paris book to an American readership.
Book editions
Hardcover
- Hardcover
- Edward W. Titus
- 1932
Paperback
- Paperback
- Swallow Press
Reader reviews
Readers may also like
The Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1931–1934
The famous consequence: the introductions it generated open the Diary's first pages.
Read our take
Lady Chatterley's Lover
The novel that made defending Lawrence necessary — published in Paris by Edward Titus, the same man who published this study.
Read our takeD. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study: frequently asked questions
What was Anaïs Nin's first published book?
This one — D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study, published in Paris by Edward Titus in 1932, before any of her fiction.
Why did Nin write about Lawrence?
She discovered his work in the late 1920s and read him as a kindred artist of instinct and the interior life; the study defends him as a serious novelist at a time when his name mostly meant scandal.
What does 'unprofessional' mean in the title?
It announces the method: a reader's and practitioner's study rather than an academic one — Nin argued Lawrence had to be read by temperament.
How did the book change her life?
Through its publishing circle she met the lawyer Richard Osborn, who introduced Henry Miller — the meeting at Louveciennes that opens the published Diary.
Is it still in print?
Yes — the Swallow Press reprint keeps it available as the earliest published Nin.
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study
NovelAnaïs Nin, 1932Used forThe primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.
2Anaïs Nin — biography
WebsiteThe Anaïs Nin FoundationUsed forUsed to place D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study within Anaïs Nin's published work and verify its bibliographic context.
3Anaïs Nin Papers — diary, March–September 1938
ArchiveUCLA Library Special CollectionsUsed forUsed for independent biographical, archival, or historical context surrounding Anaïs Nin's career and the period in which D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study appeared.
4Anaïs Nin: A Biography
BiographyG. P. Putnam's Sons, 1995Used forUsed to cross-check authorship, chronology, and the work's place in Anaïs Nin's wider catalogue.
5Anaïs: The Erotic Life of Anaïs Nin
BiographyLittle, Brown, 1993Used forUsed to verify Anaïs Nin's bibliography and place D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study within the broader chronology of Anaïs Nin's career.
6St. Thomas More College — Nin literary collection
WebsiteUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study page.
7D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study — Sky Blue Press public ebook preview
WebsiteSky Blue Press; preview hosted by Everand, 2012Used forThe Approach to D. H. Lawrence's World and The Background in Sky Blue Press's public 2012 preview; Nin's critical argument, not a collation of the 1932 edition.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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