What's the movie based on a fictional 'autobiography' which is about the filming of itself?

The book is from, I think, the 17th century, and constantly is interrupted by tangents and digressions, and is actually a series of books where the author doesn't even get to his own birth until midway through the third book. I remember all these details from reading a review, and can basically remember everything but the name, and it's driving me batty.