An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
which uses
autofiction
Autofiction is, in literary criticism, a form of fictionalized autobiography. Definition
In autofiction, an author may decide to recount their life in the Third-person narrative, third person, to modify significant details and characters, use in ...
techniques, or the merging of
autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
and fictive elements. The
literary technique
A narrative technique (also, in fiction, a fictional device) is any of several storytelling methods the creator of a narrative, story uses,
thus effectively relaying information to the audience or making the story more complete, complex, or engag ...
is distinguished from a typical
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
or
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
by being a work of ''
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
'' presented in the same fashion as a typical
non-fiction
Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...
autobiography by "imitating the conventions of an autobiography."
Because an autobiographical novel is partially fiction, the author does not ask the reader to expect the text to fulfill the "autobiographical pact".
[Philippe Lejeune, "Autobiographical Pact", pg. 19.] Names and locations are often changed and events are recreated to make them more dramatic but the story still bears a close resemblance to that of the author's life. While the events of the author's life are recounted, there is no pretense of exact truth. Events may be exaggerated or altered for artistic or thematic purposes.
A distinguish between fully autobiographical novels explained above, and semi-autobiographical novels can be made. The latter, also known as a
roman à clef
A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...
, are fictional works based on the author's own life.
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...
's ''
The Bell Jar
''The Bell Jar'' is the only novel written by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. Originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963, the novel is supposedly semi-autobiographical with the names of places and people change ...
'' is often considered to be an example of a semi-autobiographical novel.
Notable autobiographical novels
See also
*
Autofiction
Autofiction is, in literary criticism, a form of fictionalized autobiography. Definition
In autofiction, an author may decide to recount their life in the Third-person narrative, third person, to modify significant details and characters, use in ...
*
Autobiografiction
Autobiografiction is a literary fiction genre that blends autobiography with fiction; it fictionalizes autobiographical experiences, often by altering them, attributing them to fictional characters or reinventing them into other experiences. The c ...
*
Biography in literature
When studying literature, biography and its relationship to literature is often a subject of literary criticism, and is treated in several different forms. Two scholarly approaches use biography or biographical approaches to the past as a tool for ...
*
Roman à clef
A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Autobiographical Novel
Literary genres
Novels about writers
Non-fiction novels