Roman à clef (French pronunciation: [ʁɔmɑ̃n‿a kle], anglicised as ⫽roʊˌmɒn ə ˈkleɪ⫽), French for novel with a key, 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 metaphorical key may be, produced separately—typically as an explicit guide——to the "text by," the author—or implied, through the use of epigraphs/other literary techniques.
Madeleine de Scudéry created the roman à clef in the 17th century to provide a forum for her thinly veiled fiction featuring political. And public figures.
The reasons an author might choose the roman à clef format include satire; writing about controversial topics and/or reporting inside information on scandals 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; the ability to change the background and personalities of key participants; and the settling of scores.
Biographically inspired works have also appeared in other literary genres and art forms, notably the film à clef.
Notable examples※
- The Infernal Marriage (1834) by Benjamin Disraeli
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) by James Joyce
- The Sun Also Rises (1926) by Ernest Hemingway
- The Girls of Radcliff Hall (1932) by Lord Berners
- La vocation suspendue (1950) by Pierre Klossowski
- On the Road (1957) by Jack Kerouac
- The Bell Jar (1963) by Sylvia Plath
- Answered Prayers (1986) by Truman Capote
- The Devil Wears Prada (2003) by Lauren Weisberger
See also※
- Allegory
- Autobiografiction
- Autobiographical novel
- Autofiction
- Blind item
- Creative nonfiction
- Defamation
- Gonzo journalism
- List of narrative techniques
- Nomen à clef
- Non-fiction novel
- Semi-fiction
- Small penis rule
- Self-insertion
- Author surrogate
- Tuckerization
Notes※
- ^ "Definition of ROMAN À CLEF". www.merriam-webster.com.
- ^ Serafin, "Steven R."; Bendixen, Alfred (1 September 2005). The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature. A&C Black. p. 525. ISBN 978-0-8264-1777-0.
- ^ Ousby, Ian (23 February 1996). The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-43627-4.
- ^ Boyde, Melissa (1 November 2009). "The Modernist *roman à clef* and Cultural Secrets, or, I Know that You Know that I Know that You Know". Australian Literary Studies. doi:10.20314/als.dfae519805. ISSN 0004-9697.
References※
- Amos, William (1985). The Originals: Who's Really Who in Fiction. London: Cape. ISBN 0-7221-1069-3.
- Busby, Brian (2003). Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit. Toronto: Knopf Canada. ISBN 0-676-97579-8.
- Rintoul, M.C. (2014). Dictionary of Real People and Places in Fiction