The Voyeur

A Note on the Author

Alain Robbe-Grillet was born in 1922 in Brest, France. He worked as an agronomist from 1945 to 1951 in Paris, Africa, and the Antilles. His first novel, The Erasers, appeared in 1953 and marked the beginning of a literary career which astonished and enraged the critics. As his later works appeared—The Voyeur (1955), Jealousy (1957), and In the Labyrinth (1959)—his importance became increasingly apparent, and he is now the chief spokesman for the nouveau roman which has caused much discussion and controversy. Robbe-Grillet’s own theories of the novel appear in his essays on fiction, For a New Novel, one of the most provocative works of criticism to be published in recent years.

Alain Robbe-Grillet is also the author of the highly praised film Last Year at Marienbad, and the author and director of two films soon to be shown in the United States, L’Imortelle and Trans-Europe Express. His most recent novel is La Maison de Rendez-vous, published by Grove Press in 1966. Grove will also publish a volume of his stories, entitled Snapshots, later this year.