Roderick de Novembre is the author of The History of the World, a monumental though somewhat vague retelling of the history of the world - from ancient times to the present day. The work is described as "an interesting if controversial work" by Dandelion in "The Voice of Reason", one of the short stories in The Last Wish collection.
The work is also quoted in the novels, for example as a quotation to introduce chapter 7 in Time of Contempt.