Raymond Queneau (1903–1976) is a key figure of mid twentieth century French literature. He was a novelist, poet/songwriter, screenwriter, encyclopaedist, mathematician and painter. He was also a literary innovator and theoretician, and cofounded L’Ouvroir de littérature potentielle (OuLiPo) a fertile association of writers interested in constrained writing techniques. A senior editor with the prestigious publishers Gallimard, he also mentored aspiring writers (e.g. Marguerite Duras, Patrick Modiano, Nobel 2104) and was a judge for the annual Prix Goncourt. He is especially well known for the novel Zazie dans le Metro (1959) filmed by Louis Malle.

James Gosling, translator of and commentator on this work has previously published appreciations of Queneau’s Sally Mara works (Raymond Queneau’s Dubliners, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019; Queneau philologue, Sally romancière, Éditions universitaires de Dijon, in press).