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''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a "Cambridge paperback guide to literature in English" by Ian Ousby, Cambridge University Press, 1996
/ref> This metaphorical key may be produced separately—typically as an explicit guide to the text by the
/ref>
Dictionary of Real People and Places in Fiction
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman A Clef Literary genres
''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...
and the fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
./ref> This metaphorical key may be produced separately—typically as an explicit guide to the text by the
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
—or implied, through the use of epigraphs or other literary techniques.The Modernist roman à clef and Cultural Secrets, or I Know That You Know That I Know That You Know" by M. Boyde, University of Wollongong, 2009/ref>
Madeleine de Scudéry
Madeleine de Scudéry (15 November 1607 – 2 June 1701), often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer.
Her works also demonstrate such comprehensive knowledge of ancient history that it is suspected she had received inst ...
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
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
; writing about controversial topics and/or reporting inside information on scandal
A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...
s without giving rise to charges of libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
; 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
A ''film à clef'' (or ''cinéma à clef'', ''movie à clef'', ''film à clé'' (), French for "film with a key"), 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. ...
''.
See also
*Allegory
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
* Autofiction
In literary criticism, autofiction is a form of fictionalized autobiography.
Autofiction combines two mutually inconsistent narrative forms, namely autobiography and fiction. An author may decide to recount their life in the third person, to mod ...
* 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 ...
* Autobiographical novel
An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. Bec ...
* Blind item
* Creative nonfiction
Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...
* Defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
* List of narrative techniques
A narrative technique (known for literary fictional narratives as a literary technique, literary device, or fictional device) is any of several specific methods the creator of a narrative uses to convey what they want
—in other words, a st ...
* Nomen à clef
In romance languages, ''nomen à clef'' or ''nomen à clé'' (, French for "name with a key"), is a name describing a real person, behind a façade of fiction.Non-fiction novel
The non-fiction novel is a literary genre which, broadly speaking, depicts real historical figures and actual events woven together with fictitious conversations and uses the storytelling techniques of fiction. The non-fiction novel is an otherwi ...
* Semi-fiction
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fiction:
Fiction – narrative which is made up by the author. Literary work, it also includes theatrical, cinematic, documental, and musical work. In contrast to th ...
* Small penis rule
The small penis rule is an informal strategy used by authors to evade libel lawsuits. It was described in a ''New York Times'' article by Dinitia Smith in 1998:
The small penis rule was referenced in a 2006 dispute between Michael Crowley an ...
Notes
References
* Amos, William (1985). ''The Originals: Who's Really Who in Fiction''. London: Cape. . * Busby, Brian (2003). ''Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit''. Toronto: Knopf Canada. . * Rintoul, M.C. (2014).Dictionary of Real People and Places in Fiction
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman A Clef Literary genres