Raymond Roussel’s La Doublure is one of the earliest works by the French writer whose strange literary procedures would later influence Surrealism, Oulipo and experimental literature.

Roussel remains one of the most singular engines of modern literature. His books, constructed through unusual linguistic mechanisms, generate entire imaginative worlds from the smallest shifts in language.

First published in Paris by Alphonse Lemerre, La Doublure belongs to the early phase of Roussel’s writing. Already here one senses the fascination with theatrical staging, mechanical invention and obsessive description that later became central to his literary method.

Roussel’s work has fascinated generations of writers and artists – among them Marcel Duchamp, Michel Foucault and the Surrealists – precisely because it reveals literature as a machine capable of producing unexpected realities.

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About the author
Learn more about Raymond Roussel

Publisher
This publication was produced by Galerie Buchholz, a Berlin-based gallery and publisher known for its artist books and experimental publications.
Original publisher of La Doublure: Alphonse Lemerre

Further reading
A critical introduction to Roussel’s literary universe.