This is Stendhal's unfinished autobiography, written in his early fifties and published long after his death. He recalls his childhood and youth in Grenoble, his difficult relations with his father and teachers, his devotion to his mother and grandfather, and his dreams of escaping to Paris. Looking back from Rome, he questions the reliability of his own memory and tells his story with humour and frankness. Sketches and digressions appear alongside the narrative. It is a pioneering and engaging portrait of how a sensitive mind is formed.