Simone de Beauvoir continues to dominate twentieth century feminist theory, yet her work is the focus of inflamed debate amongst theorists of feminism. This accessible introduction to de Beauvoir's life and ideas considers the themes and tensions which inform her work. Mary Evans shows how de Beauvoir's writings resist simplistic interpretations and cannot be reduced to simple oppositions between masculine and feminine, rational and irrational, or social and natural. Highlighting the autobiographical aspects in de Beauvoir's work, Evans presents a new and important analysis of the complex relationship between fact, fiction and autobiography.