The biographical novel is a

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fictional genre, the novel. These reimagined biographies are sometimes called semi-biographical novels, to distinguish the relative

historicity Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. Historicity denot ...

of the work from other biographical novels The genre rose to prominence in the 1930s with best-selling works by authors such as Robert Graves,

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

Irving Stone Irving Stone (born Tennenbaum, July 14, 1903 – August 26, 1989) was an American writer, chiefly known for his biographical novels of noted artists, politicians, and intellectuals. Among the best known are '' Lust for Life'' (1934), about the l ...

and Lion Feuchtwanger. These books became best-sellers, but the genre was dismissed by literary critics. In later years it became more accepted and has become both a popular and critically accepted genre. Some biographical novels bearing only superficial resemblance to the historical novels or introducing elements of other

genres Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

that supersede the retelling of the historical narrative, for example '' Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter'' follows the plot devices of a

vampire fiction Vampire literature covers the spectrum of literary work concerned principally with the subject of vampires. The literary vampire first appeared in 18th-century poetry, before becoming one of the stock figures of gothic fiction with the publicat ...

closely. Biographical fiction often also falls within the genres of historical fiction or

alternative history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

. Some novels that are known best for their fictional prowess, but include extensive biographical information that is less obvious to readers. A very good example of this kind is Goldsmith's "

The Vicar of Wakefield ''The Vicar of Wakefield'', subtitled ''A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself'', is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and wid ...

", believed to be the biography of a person the author had known and observed very closely. Biographical novels are frequently the foundation for film adaptations into the filmographic genre of biographical film. In such novels and films, there are main stories and real characters, but changes are made in order to make the story and film more interesting. Of course, sometimes these changes become too much and, for example, a negative character is reversed and some kind of historical distortion occurs. For this reason, such novels should give the necessary information to the reader in advance. For more reflection on the different types of biographical information used in literature, see Biography in literature.

Notable biographical novels

* ''

The Moon and Sixpence ''The Moon and Sixpence'' is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, first published on 15 April 1919. It is told in episodic form by a first-person narrator providing a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Stric ...

'' (1919) by W Somerset Maugham -

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

* ''

I, Claudius ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Ro ...

'' (1934) by Robert Graves - Claudius * '' Lotte in Weimar: The Beloved Returns'' - (1939) by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

* '' The Agony and the Ecstasy'' (1961) by

- Michelangelo * ''

Blonde Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

'' (2000) by Joyce Carol Oates -

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

* '' The Revenant'' (2002) by

Michael Punke Michael W. Punke (born December 7, 1964) is an American author, attorney, academic, and policy analyst. He is a former Deputy United States Trade Representative and U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2017, ...

- US frontiersman Hugh Glass * '' The Great Lover'' (2009) by Jill Dawson - fictional woman's relationship with Rupert Brooke * ''

The Wettest County in the World ''The Wettest County in the World'' is a 2008 historical novel by Matt Bondurant, an American writer who features his grandfather Jack and grand-uncles Forrest and Howard as the main characters in the novel. The book tells of the trio during ...

'' (2008) by

Matt Bondurant Matt Bondurant, born in 1971, is an American novelist. Among his works are the books ''The Third Translation'', '' The Wettest County in the World'' and ''The Night Swimmer''. Life and career Bondurant was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia ...

- author's grandfather and his brothers, bootleggers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biographical Novel Literary genres Biography (genre)

Notable biographical novels

See also

References