The Great Fire of London: (A Story with interpolations and bifurcations)

Part novel, part autobiography, The Great Fire of London is one of the great literary undertakings of our time. Both exasperating and moving, cherished by its readers, it has its origins in the author's attempt to come to terms with the death of his young wife Alix, whose presence both haunts and gives meaning to every page. Having failed to write his intended novel ("The Great Fire of London"), instead Roubaud creates a book that is about that failure, but in the process opens up the world of the creative process. This novel stands as a lyrical counterpart of the great postmodern masterpieces by fellow Oulipians Georges Perec and Italo Calvino. First published by Dalkey Archive Press in 1991, now available again.

Jacques Roubaud is one of France's most important contemporary writers. He has published poetry, criticism, drama, and fiction, including the novels in his Hortense series and the several autobiographical volumes continuing the The Great Fire of London project, including The Loop and Mathematics: A Novel. A prominent member of the Oulipo, he taught mathematics for many years at the Universite Paris X Nanterre. He is also a prolific translator from English, having produced French versions of such classics as Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark and Edward Gorey's The Utter Zoo.