Robert Baldick was a distinguished British scholar of French literature, a writer, and a notable translator. His work focused on making French literary masterpieces accessible to English-speaking readers through his translations. He also authored biographies and historical studies, demonstrating a profound engagement with French culture and history. As an editor of classic works, he played a significant role in their dissemination and preservation.
In this novel, Antoine Roquentin, an introspective historian, records the disturbing shifts in his perceptions and his struggle to restore meaning to life in a continuing present and without lies. This is Sartre's first published novel and his first extended essay on existential philosophy.