Born in a cellar and living in a garret. That was how Samuel Foote
summed up the lifestyle of an author. It was not unrealistic, because
over the centuries, many a poet, writer and painter did spend their
lives, or the better part of their lives, in a garret or comparable
conditions.

Not all of them became famous, but the number of those who did is
large enough to induce the impression that claustrophobic living
conditions do stimulate creativity.

