Swallow Press first published "Winter of Artifice" in 1945, following two vastly different versions from other presses. The book opens with a film star, Stella, studying her own, but alien, image on the screen. It ends in the Manhattan office of a psychoanalyst the Voice who, as he counsels patients suffering from the maladies of modern life, reveals himself as equally susceptible to them. The middle, title storyexplores one of Nin s most controversial themes, that of a woman s sexual relationship with her father. Elliptical, fragmented prose; unconventional structure; surrealistic psychic landscapes Ninforgedthese elements into a style that engaged with the artistic concerns of her time but still registers as strikingly contemporary.This reissue, accompanied by a new introduction by Laura Frost and the original engravings by Nin s husband Ian Hugo, presents an important opportunity to consider anew the work of an author who laid the groundwork for later writers. Swallow Press s "Winter of Artifice" represents a literary artist coming into her own, with the formal experimentation, thematic daring, and psychological intrigue that became her hallmarks."