In 1906 the Italian futurist painter Gino Severini arrived in Paris with no money, no name, and very few acquaintances, only to become a key protagonist in the artistic and literary circles that would spearhead the modernist movement. His autobiography from this period, translated for the first time into English, tells the story of the Parisian art world he knew so well, and offers a unique account of the individuals and ideas that created modernism.