Jacques Roubaud (b. 1932) is one of the most brilliant French intellectuals of the late 20th century. His sparkling talent, sophisticated skill and impeccable taste are evident in all areas in which he deals professionally - mathematics and linguistics, essays and poetry, psychology and novel prose. Roubaud literally burst into French poetry in the early fifties; none other than Aragon immediately noticed him and proclaimed him the new hope of literature. Important milestones in the development of the mythological and cultural past of Europe were Roubaud's plays and novels about the Knights of the Round Table and the Grail, a large-scale study of the versification of the troubadours, and the collection of poems “Epsilon” said a new word in introducing Japanese structures into the European context. Published in Russian for the first time, Roubaud's prose immediately captivates the reader with its depth and stylistic sophistication. In the novels “The Beautiful Hortense” and “The Rape of Hortense”, built on a literary game and parodying both a detective story and a philosophical essay, various institutions of modern society are depicted grotesquely, and sometimes with open mockery. A brilliantly constructed plot makes you read the novels with unflagging interest.