Political Fictions

Iconic French novelist, playwright and essayist, Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) is widely recognized as one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century, whose work has remained relevant and thought-provoking through the decades. The Seagull Sartre Library now presents some of his most incisive philosophical, cultural, and literary critical essays in twelve newly designed volumes.

Political Fictions includes Sartre’s long foreword to André Gorz’s The Traitor (1958), often called the most intimate and profound book to emerge from the existentialist movement. Sartre also presents a detailed portrait of his friend and fellow writer Paul Nizan (1905–1940), once a committed communist who died fighting the Nazis at the Battle of Dunkirk. Included here is Sartre’s famous foreword to Nizan’s novel The Conspiracy, which made the novel famous on its republication in the 1960s when it was adopted as an iconic text during the events of May ’68.

About the Author

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was a French novelist, playwright, and biographer who is widely recognized as one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. His work earned him the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature.

About the Translator

Chris Turner is a translator and writer living in Birmingham, UK. He has translated more than eighty books from French and German.