Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: pt. I BERLIN, LONDON AND DEVON 1922-39 -- 1.`I love German poetry but I loathe the German language' -- 2.`Very much a slightly artistic place' -- 3.`My mother started worshipping it so I smashed it' -- 4.`To cut a terrific dash' -- pt. II THE PHONEY WAR AND THE REAL WAR 1939-45 -- 5.`A private language' -- 6.`Born naughty' -- 7.T used to always put secrets in. I still do' -- 8.`Slightly notorious' -- 9.`Slight Dreigroschenoper' -- 10.`A question of focus' -- 11.`Living in a dump and going out to somewhere palatial' -- pt. III FRANCE, GREECE, FIRST MARRIAGE 1945-9 -- 12.`French malevolence' -- 13.`The world of Ovid' -- 14.`Free spirits like me' -- 15.`Me with horns' -- 16.`Fed sweets by nuns on the coach to Galway' -- pt. IV FIRST RECOGNITION 1949-58 -- 17.`My large room in Paddington!' -- 18.`My night's entertainment' -- 19.`Being able to see under the carpet' -- 20.`True to me' -- 21.`Lady Dashwood, sorry to have kicked you' --

Contents note continued: 22.`A marvellous chase feeling' -- 23.`My ardour in the long pursuit' -- 24.`Idyllic, in a slightly maddening way' -- 25.`Mad on heat and running round, pissing all the time' -- pt. V AT THE MARLBOROUGH 1958-68 -- 26.`Do you think I'm made of wood?' -- 27.`Brilliant ones fizzled' -- 28.`Actually it's all I can do' -- 29.`People being monogamous seems to me an extraordinary and imaginative situation' -- 30.`He was rather nice and repulsive' -- 31.`Awfully uneasy' -- 32.`The absolute cheek of making art' -- 33.`I can't be pressed really' -- 34.`If work permits'.

Lucian Freud (1922-2011) is one of the most influential figurative painters of the 20th century. His paintings are in every major museum and many private collections here and abroad. William Feaver's daily calls from 1973 until Freud died in 2011, as well as interviews with family and friends were crucial sources for this book.