As I was reading it, it was only oward the end that I realized the "truth" of the journal or autobiography. The index, footnotes, and re-writes made me a believer for awhile. My discussion group had varied opinions on the truth of reflections and whether the author had to tell the readers what was true or not. Did we trust the author or not. Very much like the Memoirs of a Geisha in that the author is not the person in the tale after all.
Fascinating book on other levels, such as references to the authors, artists, and people of the time.