The Nouveau Roman writers have been actively involved in the theory as well as the practice of fiction, participating in a series of vigorous debates on issues such as the political significance of literature, formalism and structuralism, the status of the author, etc. This study discusses Robbe-Grillet, Sarraute, Simon, Butor and Ricardou, analysing both the interaction of their own theory and fiction and their reactions to the work of figures such as Sartre, Barthes, Lvi-Strauss, Sollers and Kristeva.

Acknowledgements - Introduction - The Reaction against Sartre - The Notion of Structure - Structuralist Marxism: Tel Quel and Textual Production - The Myth of Creation - Intertextuality - The Counter-reaction: the Nouveau Roman in the 1980s - Notes - References - Index