With appreciation, if not with genuine love, but also with irony and humor, Javier Marías, a great writer of our time, paints particular portraits of authors such as Faulkner, Conrad, Conan Doyle, Nabokov, Dinesen, and Henry James.

With brief descriptions of private moments and drawing details from oblivion, Marías reveals both the greatness and the smallness of beloved authors, exposing the hilarious yet alarming quirks of creators who, for once, become fictional characters.

The total of twenty authors is complemented by six "elusive women," real figures as well, who -each in her own way- decided not to follow the beaten path, as dictated by their time and gender.

Like a Colophon, and in contrast to the written text, the chapter "Perfect Artists" offers the reader the true image of the writers portrayed, in a photographic material from the author's private collection.