Roman à clef
Encyclopedia
Roman à clef or roman à clé (ʁɔmɑ̃n‿a kle), French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel
about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction
. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction
. This "key" may be produced separately by the author
, or inferred through the use of epigraphs
or other literary devices.
Created by Madeleine de Scudery
in the 17th century to provide a forum for her thinly veiled fiction featuring political and public figures, roman à clef has since been used by writers as diverse as Victor Hugo
, Phillip K. Dick, and Salman Rushdie.
The reasons an author might choose the roman à clef format include satire
; writing about controversial topics and/or reporting inside information on scandal
s without giving rise to charges of libel; the opportunity to turn the tale the way the author would like it to have gone; the opportunity to portray personal, autobiographical experiences without having to expose the author as the subject; avoiding self-incrimination or incrimination of others that could be used as evidence in civil, criminal, or disciplinary proceedings; and the settling of scores.
Biographically inspired works have also appeared in other literary genres and art forms, notably the film à clef
.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
. This "key" may be produced separately by the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, or inferred through the use of epigraphs
Epigraph (literature)
In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional...
or other literary devices.
Created by Madeleine de Scudery
Madeleine de Scudéry
Madeleine de Scudéry , often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. She was the younger sister of author Georges de Scudéry.-Biography:...
in the 17th century to provide a forum for her thinly veiled fiction featuring political and public figures, roman à clef has since been used by writers as diverse as Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
, Phillip K. Dick, and Salman Rushdie.
The reasons an author might choose the roman à clef format include satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
; writing about controversial topics and/or reporting inside information on scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
s without giving rise to charges of libel; the opportunity to turn the tale the way the author would like it to have gone; the opportunity to portray personal, autobiographical experiences without having to expose the author as the subject; avoiding self-incrimination or incrimination of others that could be used as evidence in civil, criminal, or disciplinary proceedings; and the settling of scores.
Biographically inspired works have also appeared in other literary genres and art forms, notably the film à clef
Film à clef
A film à clef or film à clé , is a film describing real life, behind a façade of fiction. "Key" in this context means a table one can use to swap out the names.It is the film equivalent of the roman à clef.-Notable films à clef:...
.
Prose
- Le Jouvencel (1466), based on the life of Jean V de Bueil, companion of Joan of ArcJoan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
- The novels of 17th century French writer Madeleine de ScudéryMadeleine de ScudéryMadeleine de Scudéry , often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. She was the younger sister of author Georges de Scudéry.-Biography:...
(1607–1701). - The Countess of Montgomery's Urania (1621) by Mary Wroth is considered to contain significant autobiographical elements.
- GlenarvonGlenarvonGlenarvon is Lady Caroline Lamb's first novel, published in 1816. Its rakish title character is an unflattering depiction of her ex-lover Lord Byron....
(1816) by Lady Caroline LambLady Caroline LambThe Lady Caroline Lamb was a British aristocrat and novelist, best known for her affair with Lord Byron in 1812. Her husband was the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, the Prime Minister...
which chronicles her affair with Lord Byron (thinly disguised as the title character). - Virtually all of the novels of Thomas Love PeacockThomas Love PeacockThomas Love Peacock was an English satirist and author.Peacock was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley and they influenced each other's work...
(1785–1866) presuppose a knowledge of EnglishEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
intellectuals and currents of thought of the time. - The Blithedale RomanceThe Blithedale RomanceThe Blithedale Romance is Nathaniel Hawthorne's third major romance. In Hawthorne , Henry James called it "the lightest, the brightest, the liveliest" of Hawthorne's "unhumorous fictions."-Plot summary:...
(1852) by Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
is a fictional account inspired by, but not specifically depicting, Hawthorne's experiences at the Brook FarmBrook FarmBrook Farm, also called the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education or the Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education, was a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the 1840s...
experiment. - Ruth HallRuth HallRuth Hall: a Domestic Tale of the Present Time is a roman à clef by Fanny Fern , a popular 19th-century newspaper writer. Following on her meteoric rise to fame as a columnist, she signed a contract in February 1854 to write a full-length novel...
(1854) by Fanny FernFanny FernFanny Fern, born Sara Willis , was an American writer and the first woman to have a regular newspaper column. She was also a humorist, novelist, and author of children's stories in the 1850s-1870s. Fern's great popularity has been attributed to her conversational style and sense of what mattered to...
(Sarah Payson Willis) describes Fern's own struggle to become a successful newspaper columnist, and puts her family (including her brother, Nathaniel Parker WillisNathaniel Parker WillisNathaniel Parker Willis , also known as N. P. Willis, was an American author, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He became the highest-paid magazine writer of his day. For a time, he was the employer of former...
) and two of her early editors in a most unflattering light. - The Lady of Aroostook (1879) by William Dean HowellsWilliam Dean HowellsWilliam Dean Howells was an American realist author and literary critic. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of the Atlantic Monthly as well as his own writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novel The Rise of...
depicts Emily DickinsonEmily DickinsonEmily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
's romantic engagements with several men. - Röda rummetThe Red Room (Strindberg)The Red Room is a Swedish novel by August Strindberg that was first published in 1879. A satire of Stockholm society, it has frequently been described as the first modern Swedish novel. While receiving mixed reviews in Sweden, it was acclaimed in Denmark, where Strindberg was hailed as a genius. ...
(The Red RoomThe Red Room (Strindberg)The Red Room is a Swedish novel by August Strindberg that was first published in 1879. A satire of Stockholm society, it has frequently been described as the first modern Swedish novel. While receiving mixed reviews in Sweden, it was acclaimed in Denmark, where Strindberg was hailed as a genius. ...
) (1879) by August StrindbergAugust StrindbergJohan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
presents thinly disguised depictions of intellectuals of the period. - The Green CarnationThe Green CarnationThe Green Carnation, first published anonymously in 1894, was a scandalous novel by Robert Hichens whose lead characters are closely based on Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas - also known as 'Bosie', whom the author personally knew...
(1894) by Robert HichensRobert Smythe HichensRobert Smythe Hichens was an English journalist, novelist, music lyricist, short story writer, music critic and collaborated on successful plays. He is best remembered as a satirist of the "Naughty Nineties".-Biography:...
is based on the relationship between Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
and his lover, Lord Alfred DouglasLord Alfred DouglasLord Alfred Bruce Douglas , nicknamed Bosie, was a British author, poet and translator, better known as the intimate friend and lover of the writer Oscar Wilde...
. - BuddenbrooksBuddenbrooksBuddenbrooks was Thomas Mann's first novel, published in 1901 when he was twenty-six years old. The publication of the 2nd edition in 1903 confirmed that Buddenbrooks was a major literary success in Germany....
(1901) is a portrayal of Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
's family and of society in Luebeck. - The protagonists of both Tonio KrögerTonio KrögerTonio Kröger is a novella by Thomas Mann, written early in 1901, when he was 25. It was first published in 1903.-Plot summary:The narrative follows the course of a man's life from his schoolboy days to his adulthood. The son of a north German merchant and an Italian artist, Tonio inherited...
(1903) and Death in VeniceDeath in VeniceThe novella Death in Venice was written by the German author Thomas Mann, and was first published in 1913 as Der Tod in Venedig. The plot of the work presents a great writer suffering writer's block who visits Venice and is liberated and uplifted, then increasingly obsessed, by the sight of a...
(1912) are representations of Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
. - The Seething PotThe Seething PotThe Seething Pot is a roman à clef written by George A. Birmingham which negatively portrays various individuals and organizations of County Mayo. It was first published in 1905. The novel has been called an "excellent stud[y] of life in the west."...
(1905) by George A. BirminghamGeorge A. BirminghamGeorge A. Birmingham was the pen name of James Owen Hannay , Irish clergyman and prolific novelist.-Life and career:...
is based on the citizens of County MayoCounty MayoCounty Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
. - The Fiery AngelThe Fiery Angel (novel)The Fiery Angel is a novel by Valery Bryusov of 1908. Set in sixteenth century Germany it depicts a love-triangle between Renata, a passionate young woman, Ruprecht,a knight and Madiel, the fiery Angel. The novel tells the story of Ruprecht's attempts to win the love of Renata whose spiritual...
(1908) by Valery BryusovValery BryusovValery Yakovlevich Bryusov was a Russian poet, prose writer, dramatist, translator, critic and historian. He was one of the principal members of the Russian Symbolist movement.-Biography:...
depicts the real-life triangle of black magic, obsession and love between himself, Andrei BelyAndrei BelyAndrei Bely was the pseudonym of Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev , a Russian novelist, poet, theorist, and literary critic. His novel Petersburg was regarded by Vladimir Nabokov as one of the four greatest novels of the 20th century.-Biography:...
and Nina Petrovskaya while describing a story of witchcraft in 16th Century Germany. - Ann VeronicaAnn VeronicaAnn Veronica is a novel by H.G. Wells first published in 1909. The book deals with contemporary political issues, concentrating specifically on feminist issues...
(1909) by H. G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
is based in the real relationship between H. G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
and Amber ReevesAmber ReevesAmber Blanco White [née Amber Reeves] was a British feminist writer and scholar.-Early life:Reeves was born in Christchurch, New Zealand,the eldest of three children...
. - The Moon and SixpenceThe Moon and SixpenceThe Moon and Sixpence is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, told in episodic form by the first-person narrator as a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Strickland, a middle-aged English stockbroker who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire...
(1919) by William Somerset Maugham follows the life of Paul GauguinPaul GauguinEugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
, especially his time in TahitiTahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. - Crome YellowCrome YellowCrome Yellow is the first novel by British author Aldous Huxley. It was published in 1921. In the book, Huxley satirises the fads and fashions of the time. It is the witty story of a house party at "Crome"...
(1921), Antic HayAntic HayAntic Hay is a comic novel by Aldous Huxley, published in 1923. The story takes place in London, and depicts the aimless or self-absorbed cultural elite in the sad and turbulent times following the end of World War I....
(1923) and Those Barren LeavesThose Barren LeavesThose Barren Leaves is a satirical novel by Aldous Huxley, published in 1925. The title is derived from the poem 'The Tables Turned' by William Wordsworth which ends with the words:...
(1925) by Aldous HuxleyAldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
are all satires of contemporary events. - Nigger HeavenNigger HeavenNigger Heaven is a 1926 novel written by Carl Van Vechten, set during the Harlem Renaissance in the United States in the 1920s. The book and its title have been controversial since its publication....
(1926) by Carl Van Vechten is set during the Harlem Renaissance in the United States in the 1920s. - The Sun Also RisesThe Sun Also RisesThe Sun Also Rises is a 1926 novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway about a group of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bullfights. An early and enduring modernist novel, it received...
(1926) by Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
is a disguised account of Hemingway's literary life in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and his 1925 trip to Spain with several known personalities. - The Benson Murder CaseThe Benson Murder CaseThe Benson Murder Case is the first novel in the Philo Vance series of mystery novels by S.S. Van Dine, which became a best-seller.-Plot outline:...
(1926), the best-selling first entry in the series of detective novels by S. S. Van DineS. S. Van DineS. S. Van Dine was the pseudonym of Willard Huntington Wright , a U.S art critic and author. He created the once immensely popular fictional detective Philo Vance, who first appeared in books in the 1920s, then in movies and on the radio.-Early life and career:Willard Huntington Wright was born...
featuring detective Philo VancePhilo VancePhilo Vance featured in 12 crime novels written by S. S. Van Dine , published in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, Vance was immensely popular in books, movies, and on the radio. He was portrayed as a stylish, even foppish dandy, a New York bon vivant possessing a highly intellectual bent...
, is based on the unsolved murder of bridge expert Joseph Elwell, who was found shot to death in a room locked from the inside, minus his toupee, physical circumstances which are duplicated in the novel. - Point Counter PointPoint Counter PointPoint Counter Point is a novel by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1928. It is Huxley's longest novel, and was notably more complex and serious than his earlier fiction....
(1928) by Aldous HuxleyAldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
includes easily detected portraits of Huxley's friends D. H. LawrenceD. H. LawrenceDavid Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
and John Middleton MurryJohn Middleton MurryJohn Middleton Murry was an English writer. He was prolific, producing more than 60 books and thousands of essays and reviews on literature, social issues, politics, and religion during his lifetime...
. - Roman à clef is one of the many dimensions of Orlando: A BiographyOrlando: A BiographyOrlando: A Biography is an influential novel by Virginia Woolf, first published on 11 October 1928. A semi-biographical novel based in part on the life of Woolf's lover Vita Sackville-West, it is generally considered one of Woolf's most accessible novels...
(1928) by Virginia WoolfVirginia WoolfAdeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
. - All Quiet on the Western FrontAll Quiet on the Western FrontAll Quiet on the Western Front is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front.The...
(1928) by Erich Maria RemarqueErich Maria RemarqueErich Maria Remarque was a German author, best known for his novel All Quiet on the Western Front.-Life and work:...
is based on his experiences as a soldier during World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. - Look Homeward, AngelLook Homeward, AngelLook Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life is a 1929 novel by Thomas Wolfe. It is Wolfe's first novel, and is considered a highly autobiographical American Bildungsroman. The character of Eugene Gant is generally believed to be a depiction of Wolfe himself. The novel covers the span of time...
(1929) by Thomas WolfeThomas WolfeThomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing... - The Novels of Laura Ingalls WilderLaura Ingalls WilderLaura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American author who wrote the Little House series of books based on her childhood in a pioneer family...
(1867–1957) - Tender Is the NightTender is the NightTender Is the Night is a novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was his fourth and final completed novel, and was first published in Scribner's Magazine between January-April, 1934 in four issues...
(1934) by F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
depicts acquaintances of Gerald and Sara MurphyGerald and Sara MurphyGerald Clery Murphy and Sara Sherman Wiborg were wealthy, expatriate Americans who moved to the French Riviera in the early 20th century and who, with their generous hospitality and flair for parties, created a vibrant social circle, particularly in the 1920s, that included a great number of...
in the 1920s. - Entirely Surrounded (1934) by Charles BrackettCharles BrackettCharles William Brackett was an American novelist, screenwriter, and film producer.-Biography:Born on November 26, 1892 in Saratoga Springs, New York, Charles William Brackett was the son of New York State Senator, lawyer, and banker Edgar Truman Brackett...
observes several thinly disguised members of the Algonquin Round TableAlgonquin Round TableThe Algonquin Round Table was a celebrated group of New York City writers, critics, actors and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel from 1919 until roughly 1929...
coterie while they are guests of a thinly disguised Alexander WoollcottAlexander WoollcottAlexander Humphreys Woollcott was an American critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine and a member of the Algonquin Round Table....
at his thinly disguised Neshobe IslandNeshobe IslandNeshobe Island is an island in Lake Bomoseen in the town of Castleton, U.S. state of Vermont. It is particularly known for its association during the 1920s and 1930s with the Algonquin Round Table, a group of literary figures....
retreat in Vermont. - MephistoMephisto (novel)Mephisto – Novel of a Career is the sixth novel by Klaus Mann, which was published in 1936 whilst he was in exile in Amsterdam. It was published for the first time in Germany in the East Berlin Aufbau-Verlag in 1956...
(1936) by Klaus MannKlaus Mann- Life and work :Born in Munich, Klaus Mann was the son of German writer Thomas Mann and his wife, Katia Pringsheim. His father was baptized as a Lutheran, while his mother was from a family of secular Jews. He began writing short stories in 1924 and the following year became drama critic for a...
. Mann's brother-in-law, the actor Gustaf GründgensGustaf GründgensGustaf Gründgens , born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, intendant and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg...
, was so offended by the main character Hendrik Höfgen (based on Gründgens himself) that the novel was banned after a libel case. - Power Without GloryPower Without GloryPower Without Glory is a 1950 novel written by Australian writer Frank Hardy. It was later adapted into a mini-series by the Australian Broadcasting Commission .- Publication :...
(1950) by Frank HardyFrank HardyFrancis Joseph Hardy, or Frank, was an Australian left-wing novelist and writer best known for his controversial novel Power Without Glory. He also was a political activist bringing the plight of Aboriginal Australians to international attention with the publication of his book, The Unlucky...
is an unveiled and highly critical account of the life of Australian business man and political figure John WrenJohn WrenJohn Wren was an Australian businessman. He has become a legendary figure thanks mainly to a fictionalised account of his life in Frank Hardy's novel Power Without Glory, which was also made into a television series...
(referred to by Hardy as John West). Hardy, a socialist, blamed Wren for what he saw as the corruption of the Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
during the early 20th century. Hardy was sued for criminal libel for having depicted Wren's wife having an affair. - In her novel Broderie Anglaise (1953), Violet TrefusisViolet TrefusisViolet Trefusis née Keppel was an English writer and socialite. She is most notable for her lesbian affair with Vita Sackville-West, which was featured under disguise in Virginia Woolf's Orlando: A Biography....
represents her lesbian affair with Vita Sackville-WestVita Sackville-WestThe Hon Victoria Mary Sackville-West, Lady Nicolson, CH , best known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author, poet and gardener. She won the Hawthornden Prize in 1927 and 1933...
and Vita's with Virginia WoolfVirginia WoolfAdeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
in the form of a heterosexual romance. She also weaves the affairs of her mother, Alice KeppelAlice KeppelAlice Frederica Keppel, née Edmonstone was a British socialite and the most famous mistress of Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Her formal style after marriage was The Hon. Mrs George Keppel. Her daughter, Violet Trefusis, was the lover of poet Vita Sackville-West...
, with Edward VIIEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
into the book. - The novels of Jack KerouacJack KerouacJean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
, including On the RoadOn the RoadOn the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
(1957) and The Dharma BumsThe Dharma BumsThe Dharma Bums is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The semi-fictional accounts in the novel are based upon events that occurred years after the events of On the Road...
(1958). - The Ugly AmericanThe Ugly AmericanThe Ugly American is the title of a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer. The novel became a bestseller, was influential at the time, and is still in print...
(1958) by Eugene BurdickEugene BurdickEugene L. Burdick , was an American political scientist, novelist, and non-fiction writer, co-author of The Ugly American and Fail-Safe and author of The 480 ....
and William LedererWilliam LedererWilliam Julius Lederer, Jr. was an American author.-Biography:He was a US Naval Academy graduate in 1936. His first appointment was as the junior officer of a river gunboat on the Yangtze River....
, a book that criticized American foreign policy in Southeast AsiaSoutheast AsiaSoutheast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
prior to the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The book uses the fictional country of Sarkhan in Southeast Asia that closely resembles Burma, but is meant to allude to VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, as the setting and includes several real people, most of whose names have been changed. - The CarpetbaggersThe CarpetbaggersThe Carpetbaggers is the title of a 1961 bestselling novel by Harold Robbins, which was adapted into a 1964 film of the same title.The term "carpetbagger" refers to an outsider relocating to exploit locals . It derives from post-bellum South usage, where it referred specifically to opportunistic...
(1961) by Harold RobbinsHarold RobbinsHarold Robbins was one of the best-selling American authors of all time. During his career, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages....
is a fictionalized version of the early Hollywood exploits of Howard HughesHoward HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
and actress Jean HarlowJean HarlowJean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
. - The Idle Warriors (1962), Kerry Wendell Thornley's novel based on his old acquaintance from the Marine Corps, Lee Harvey OswaldLee Harvey OswaldLee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
. - The Bell JarThe Bell JarThe Bell Jar is American writer and poet Sylvia Plath's only novel, which was originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963. The novel is semi-autobiographical with the names of places and people changed...
(1963) by Sylvia PlathSylvia PlathSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
, her semi-autobiographical novel, detailing a young girl's attempts at suicides and her mental breakdown. - Nothing Like the Sun: A Story of Shakespeare's Love LifeNothing Like the Sun: A Story of Shakespeare's Love LifeNothing Like the Sun is a fictional biography of William Shakespeare by Anthony Burgess first published in 1964. The novel concerns alleged relationships of Shakespeare from his perspective, including one with the notorious Elizabethan prostitute, Lucy Negro.The novel's title refers to the first...
is a fictional biography of William Shakespeare by Anthony BurgessAnthony BurgessJohn Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
first published in 1964. - Fear and Loathing in Las VegasFear and Loathing in Las Vegas (novel)Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream is an autobiographical novel by Hunter S. Thompson, illustrated by Ralph Steadman. The book is a roman à clef, rooted in autobiographical incidents. The story follows its protagonist, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Dr...
(1971) by Hunter S. ThompsonHunter S. ThompsonHunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
, a fictionalized account of Thompson's trip to Las Vegas in a drug-induced haze. - The CompanyThe Company (Ehrlichman novel)The Company is a political fiction Roman à clef novel written by John Ehrlichman, a former close aide to President Richard Nixon and a figure in the Watergate scandal, first published in 1976 by Simon & Schuster. The title is an insider nicknkame for the Central Intelligence Agency...
(1976) by John EhrlichmanJohn EhrlichmanJohn Daniel Ehrlichman was counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. He was a key figure in events leading to the Watergate first break-in and the ensuing Watergate scandal, for which he was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury...
, a fictionalized account of Nixon administration involvement in events leading to the Watergate scandalWatergate scandalThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
. - A Scanner DarklyA Scanner DarklyA Scanner Darkly is a BSFA Award winning 1977 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The semi-autobiographical story is set in a dystopian Orange County, California, in the then-future of June 1994...
(1977) by Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
, a fictionalized account of Dick's experiences in the 1970s drug culture. Dick said in an interview, "Everything in A Scanner Darkly I actually saw." - The Lords of DisciplineThe Lords of DisciplineThe Lords of Discipline is a 1980 novel by Pat Conroy.-Summary:The novel's narrator, Will McLean, attends the Carolina Military Institute in Charleston, from 1963 to 1967. The novel takes place in four parts. The first describes the beginning of his senior year and the admission of new freshmen...
(1980) by Pat ConroyPat ConroyPat Conroy , is a New York Times bestselling author who has written several acclaimed novels and memoirs. Two of his novels, The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, were made into Oscar-nominated films.-Early life:...
, supposedly about the integration of the first black cadets into The CitadelThe Citadel (military college)The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, also known simply as The Citadel, is a state-supported, comprehensive college located in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. It is one of the six senior military colleges in the United States...
. The accuracy of the events depicted within is vehemently denied by other alumni who attended at the time. - Salman Rushdie's Midnight's ChildrenMidnight's ChildrenMidnight's Children is a 1981 book by Salman Rushdie about India's transition from British colonialism to independence and the partition of India. It is considered an example of postcolonial literature and magical realism...
(1981) - Vasily AksyonovVasily AksyonovVasily Pavlovich Aksyonov was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He is known in the West as the author of The Burn and Generations of Winter , a family saga depicting three generations of the Gradov family between 1925 and 1953.-Early life:Vasily Aksyonov was...
's Say Cheese (1983) recounts in a fictionalized form the story of the Metropol anthology by Soviet writers, the first project of its kind not subject to censorship. - QueenieQueenie (miniseries)-Background:In April 1985 Korda published Queenie, a roman à clef about his aunt, actress Merle Oberon, who had married his uncle Alexander Korda. Queenie Kelley is an extremely beautiful girl of Indian and Irish descent, fair enough to pass for white...
(1985) by Michael KordaMichael KordaMichael Korda is a writer and novelist who was editor-in-Chief of Simon & Schuster in New York City.-Early Years:...
, nephew of Alexander KordaAlexander KordaSir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
and the actress Merle OberonMerle OberonMerle Oberon was an Indian-born British actress best known for her screen performances in The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Cowboy and the Lady . She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII . She travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel...
. In the novel, Queenie Kelley, a girl of Indian and Irish descent, is based on Oberon, who went to great lengths to disguise her mixed-race background. - Dominick DunneDominick DunneDominick John Dunne was an American writer and investigative journalist, whose subjects frequently hinged on the ways in which high society interacts with the judicial system...
's novels depict various upheavals in high society, with many thinly veiled prominent persons among the casts of characters. Among the novels and respective cases alluded to are The Two Mrs. GrenvillesThe Two Mrs. GrenvillesThe Two Mrs. Grenvilles is a 1985 novel by Dominick Dunne based on the sensational Woodward murder case of 1955. It was made into a television movie in 1987, directed by John Erman, and starring Genevieve Allenbury, Ann-Margaret, Elizabeth Ashley, Claudette Colbert and Stephen Collins...
(1985) (the shooting of Belair StudBelair StudBelair Stud was an American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm founded by Provincial Governor of Maryland, Samuel Ogle in 1747 in Collington, Prince Georges County, Maryland in Colonial America.-Colonial Period:...
owner William Woodward, Jr. by his wife, Ann Arden Woodward); An Inconvenient WomanAn Inconvenient WomanAn Inconvenient Woman is a 1990 novel by Dominick Dunne. Its plot centers on the affair between married Jules Mendelson, an extremely influential member of Los Angeles high society, and Flo March, a diner waitress and aspiring actress whose life is transformed by the illicit relationship until she...
(1990) (the Alfred S. BloomingdaleAlfred S. BloomingdaleAlfred Schiffer Bloomingdale was an heir to the Bloomingdale's department store fortune, and the celebrated lover of murdered Hollywood model Vicki Morgan....
/Vicki MorganVicki MorganVicki Morgan was a model and a high-profile murder victim.-Background:...
affair and ensuing scandal); and A Season in PurgatoryA Season in PurgatoryA Season in Purgatory is a 1993 novel by Dominick Dunne. It was inspired by the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley, for which Michael Skakel, the nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, eventually was convicted...
(1993) (the Michael SkakelMichael SkakelMichael C. Skakel was convicted in 2002 of the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley, his 15-year-old neighbor in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was sentenced to 20 years to life and remains incarcerated. Skakel is the nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F...
/Martha MoxleyMartha MoxleyMartha Elizabeth Moxley was a 15-year-old murder victim in a case that attracted worldwide publicity owing to a "Kennedy connection"....
murder case). Dunne's last work, "Too Much MoneyToo Much MoneyToo Much Money is the last novel written by Dominick Dunne, published posthumously in the year of his death 2009. A roman a clef, its protagonist, August Bailey, is an alter ego of the author.-Plot:...
", published posthumously (2009), is a quasi-autobiographical thinly veiled roman à clef. He became reluctant to use real names after he was sued for defamation in the Chandra Levy matter. Interestingly, Dunne comes out of the closet through the protagonist in this book. - Postcards from the EdgePostcards from the EdgePostcards from the Edge is a semi-autobiographical novel by Carrie Fisher, first published in 1987. It was later adapted, by Fisher herself, into a motion picture by the same name, directed by Mike Nichols which was released by Columbia Pictures in 1990.-Plot summary:The novel revolves around movie...
(1987) by Carrie FisherCarrie FisherCarrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
describes her substance abuse and often-strained relationship with her mother, Debbie ReynoldsDebbie ReynoldsDebbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
. - Story of My LifeStory of My Life (novel)Story of My Life is a novel published in 1988 by the American author Jay McInerney.-Plot and characters:The novel is narrated in the first-person from the point of view of Alison Poole, "an ostensibly jaded, cocaine-addled, sexually voracious 20-year old." Alison is originally from Virginia and...
(1988) by Jay McInerneyJay McInerneyJohn Barrett McInerney Jr. is an American writer. His novels include Bright Lights, Big City; Ransom; Story of My Life; Brightness Falls; and The Last of the Savages...
implies that the cause of protagonist Alison Poole's "cocaine-addled, sexually voracious" behavior is her father's abuse, including the murder of her prize jumping horseHorse murdersThe horse murders scandal were cases of insurance fraud in the United States in which expensive horses, many of them show jumpers, were insured against death, accident, or disease, and then killed to collect the insurance money...
. McInerney has stated in interviews that Poole was based on his former girlfriend, Lisa Druck, later known as Rielle HunterRielle HunterRielle Hunter , August 1, 2008, San Jose Mercury-News. is an American actress and film producer. She is known for having had an affair with and conceiving a child with 2004 Democratic Party vice-presidential nominee John Edwards., August 8, 2008, Chicago Tribune. She is said to be the basis of a...
. - The Things They CarriedThe Things They CarriedThe Things They Carried is a collection of related stories by Tim O'Brien, about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War, originally published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin, 1990...
(1990) by Tim O'BrienTim O'Brien (author)Tim O'Brien is an American novelist who often writes about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the impact the war had on the American servicemen who fought there...
is considered a truthful if knowingly distorted account of O'Brien's experiences in the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and subsequent methods of coping with war's aftermath. - Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
's The Liar (1991) - Part 1 of PiHKAL: A Chemical Love StoryPiHKALPiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story is a book by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin which was published in 1991. The subject of the work is psychoactive phenethylamine chemical derivatives, notably those that act as psychedelics and/or empathogen-entactogens...
(1991) by Dr. AlexanderAlexander ShulginAlexander "Sasha" Theodore Shulgin is an American pharmacologist, chemist, artist, and drug developer.Shulgin is credited with the popularization of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially for psychopharmaceutical use and the treatment of depression and...
and Ann ShulginAnn ShulginAnn Shulgin is an American author and the wife of chemist Alexander Shulgin.Ann Shulgin grew up in the village Opicina outside the Italian city Trieste where her father was American Consul for six years before World War II. She has worked as a lay therapist with psychedelic substances such as MDMA...
is a fictionalized autobiography of the couple (Part 2 is non-fiction). - Primary Colors (1996) about Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's presidential campaign, published anonymouslyAnonymityAnonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...
but later confirmed to have been written by Joe Klein. - Mona Simpson's A Regular Guy (1996) is a fictionalized version of the life of her biological brother, Apple Computers co-founder Steve JobsSteve JobsSteven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
. - Part 1 of TiHKAL: The ContinuationTiHKALTiHKAL: The Continuation is a 1997 book written by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin about a family of psychoactive drugs known as tryptamines. A sequel to PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, TiHKAL is an acronym that stands for Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved.-Content:TiHKAL, much like its...
(1997) by Dr. AlexanderAlexander ShulginAlexander "Sasha" Theodore Shulgin is an American pharmacologist, chemist, artist, and drug developer.Shulgin is credited with the popularization of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially for psychopharmaceutical use and the treatment of depression and...
and Ann ShulginAnn ShulginAnn Shulgin is an American author and the wife of chemist Alexander Shulgin.Ann Shulgin grew up in the village Opicina outside the Italian city Trieste where her father was American Consul for six years before World War II. She has worked as a lay therapist with psychedelic substances such as MDMA...
continues the fictionalized autobiography begun in PiHKALPiHKALPiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story is a book by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin which was published in 1991. The subject of the work is psychoactive phenethylamine chemical derivatives, notably those that act as psychedelics and/or empathogen-entactogens...
(Part 2 is non-fiction). - RavelsteinRavelsteinRavelstein is Saul Bellow's final novel.Published in 2000, when Bellow was eighty-five years old, it received widespread critical acclaim. It tells the tale of a friendship between two university professors and the complications that animate their erotic and intellectual attachments in the face of...
(2000) by Saul BellowSaul BellowSaul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts...
is a thinly disguised memoir of his friendship with Allan BloomAllan BloomAllan David Bloom was an American philosopher, classicist, and academic. He studied under David Grene, Leo Strauss, Richard McKeon and Alexandre Kojève. He subsequently taught at Cornell University, the University of Toronto, Yale University, École Normale Supérieure of Paris, and the University...
. His Humboldt's GiftHumboldt's GiftHumboldt's Gift is a 1975 novel by Saul Bellow, which won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and contributed to Bellow's winning the Nobel Prize in Literature the same year....
(1975), is about his friendship with the poet Delmore SchwartzDelmore SchwartzDelmore Schwartz was an American poet and short story writer from Brooklyn, New York.-Biography:Schwartz was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. His parents, Harry and Rose, both Romanian Jews, separated when Schwartz was nine, and their divorce had a profound effect on him. Later, in 1930,...
. - The Devil Wears Prada (2003) about a woman constantly bullied by her boss while working as an assistant at a fashion magazine. Although author Lauren WeisbergerLauren WeisbergerLauren Weisberger is an American novelist and author of the 2003 bestseller The Devil Wears Prada, a speculated roman à clef of her real life experience as a put-upon assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour....
worked as an assistant at Vogue magazineVogue (magazine)Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, she denies that the book's antagonist, Miranda Priestly, is modeled after the magazine's editor-in-chief Anna WintourAnna WintourAnna Wintour, OBE is the British-born editor-in-chief of American Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. With her trademark pageboy bob haircut and sunglasses, Wintour has become an institution throughout the fashion world, widely praised for her eye for fashion trends and her support for...
. - 2666 (2004) by Roberto BolañoRoberto BolañoRoberto Bolaño Ávalos was a Chilean novelist and poet. In 1999 he won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel Los detectives salvajes , and in 2008 he was posthumously awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for his novel 2666, which was described by board member Marcela Valdes...
, which places the hundreds of real rape/murders in Juárez, Mexico in a fictional border-town in the State of Sonora (west of Juárez). - Lunar ParkLunar ParkLunar Park is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis with elements of faux autobiography and pastiche. It was released by Knopf on August 16, 2005. It is notable for being the first book written by Ellis to use past tense narrative.-Plot summary:...
(2005) by Bret Easton EllisBret Easton EllisBret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
is partly a ghost story and an autobiographical novel describing his early years of fame and difficult relationship with his father. - The Washingtonienne (2005) based on author Jessica CutlerJessica CutlerJessica Louise Cutler is a blogger, an author, and former congressional staff assistant who was fired for detailing her active sexual life, including receiving money for having sex, in her blog.-Education:...
's affairs with various men while a congressional intern in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... - Empress BiancaEmpress BiancaEmpress Bianca, the first novel by Lady Colin Campbell, was initially published in June, 2005. One month later, Arcadia Books, the British publisher, withdrew the book and pulped all unsold copies in reaction to a legal threat intiated on behalf of Lily Safra under her interpretation that the book...
(2005) by Lady Colin CampbellLady Colin CampbellLady Colin Campbell, , is a British writer, biographer, autobiographer, novelist, television and radio personality, known for her biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, The Real Diana, as well as other books on the Royal Family and the international elite.Campbell was born in Jamaica, the child of...
was pulped after objections by Lily SafraLily SafraLily Safra is a Brazilian-Monegasque philanthropist and social figure who attained considerable wealth after four marriages. Her net worth is estimated at $1 billion, ranking her as the 701st richest person in the world according to Forbes in 2009...
's lawyer; it was republished in a revised version. - The GhostThe Ghost (novel)The Ghost is a contemporary political thriller by the best-selling English novelist and journalist Robert Harris.In 2007 British prime minister Tony Blair resigned. Harris, a former Fleet Street political editor, dropped his other work to write the book...
(2007) written by novelist Robert HarrisRobert Harris (novelist)Robert Dennis Harris is an English novelist. He is a former journalist and BBC television reporter.-Early life:Born in Nottingham, Harris spent his childhood in a small rented house on a Nottingham council estate. His ambition to become a writer arose at an early age, from visits to the local...
in which the character of Adam Lang is loosely based on Harris' friend, former Prime Minister Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. Director Roman PolanskiRoman PolanskiRoman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
turned the book into the movie The Ghost Writer, in which the character is played by Pierce BrosnanPierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years... - The Society of Judas: A Novel by Charles T. MurrCharles T. MurrCharles T. Murr is a Catholic priest, author, linguist, and founder of an Orphanage in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico.- Early life :...
(2009) - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time IndianThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time IndianThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is a novel for young adults written by Sherman Alexie. It is told in the first-person, from the viewpoint of Native American teenager and budding cartoonist Arnold Spirit, Jr....
by Sherman Alexie
Verse and drama
- The Rape of the LockThe Rape of the LockThe Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander Pope, first published anonymously in Lintot's Miscellany in May 1712 in two cantos , but then revised, expanded and reissued under Pope's name on March 2, 1714, in a much-expanded 5-canto version...
(1714) by Alexander PopeAlexander PopeAlexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
, inspired by a story recounted by his friend involving stolen hair. - Le Roi s'amuseLe roi s'amuseLe roi s'amuse is a play written by Victor Hugo in 1832. While it depicts the escapades of Francis I of France, censors of the time believed that it also contained insulting references to King Louis-Philippe and banned it after one performance...
, by Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France.... - RigolettoRigolettoRigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
- BetrayalBetrayal (play)Betrayal is a play written by Harold Pinter in 1978. Critically regarded as one of the English playwright's major dramatic works, it features his characteristically economical dialogue, characters' hidden emotions and veiled motivations, and their self-absorbed competitive one-upmanship,...
, by Harold PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
, is closely based on his affair with Joan Bakewell - Dreamgirls, a musical based on the career of The SupremesThe SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
- Mozart Was a RedMozart Was a RedMozart Was a Red was an unpublished one act play written in the 1960s by libertarian economist Murray Rothbard. The morality play was written as a farce, inspired by the author's meetings with Ayn Rand...
, a morality playMorality playThe morality play is a genre of Medieval and early Tudor theatrical entertainment. In their own time, these plays were known as "interludes", a broader term given to dramas with or without a moral theme. Morality plays are a type of allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of...
inspired by author Murray RothbardMurray RothbardMurray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
's meetings with Ayn RandAyn RandAyn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
.
See also
- AllegoryAllegoryAllegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
- Autobiographical novelAutobiographical novelAn autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fiction elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction...
- Film à clefFilm à clefA film à clef or film à clé , is a film describing real life, behind a façade of fiction. "Key" in this context means a table one can use to swap out the names.It is the film equivalent of the roman à clef.-Notable films à clef:...
- Literary techniqueLiterary techniqueA literary technique is any element or the entirety of elements a writer intentionally uses in the structure of their work...
- Semi-fiction