An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from a typical autobiography or memoir by being a work of fiction presented in the same fashion as a typical non-fiction 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.
Fully autobiographical novels can be distinguished from semi-autobiographical novels or romans à clef. Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar is often considered to be an example of a semi-autobiographical novel.
Notable autobiographical novels
AuthorTitleYear A Death in the Family 1957 Little Women 1868 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 2007 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings 1969 Go Tell It on the Mountain 1953 Empire of the Sun 1984 Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera 1994 The Adventures of Augie March 1953 Lavengro: The Scholar, the Gypsy, the Priest 1851 Villette 1853 Rubyfruit Jungle 1973 Post Office 1971 Junkie 1953 The Way of All Flesh 1903 Journey to the End of the Night 1932 Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life 1997 Youth: Scenes from Provincial Life II 2002 Summertime 2009 David Copperfield 1850 Great Expectations 1861 Granny, Iliko, Illarion, and I 1960 The Sunny Night 1967 The Lover 1984 The Mill on the Floss 1860 Invisible Man 1952 Happening2000 The Years2008 A Fan's Notes 1967 This Side of Paradise 1920 A Million Little Pieces 2003 My Friend Leonard 2005 The Thief's Journal 1949 Our Lady of the Flowers 1943 Looking for Alaska 2005 The End of the Affair 1951 A Farewell to Arms 1929 October Sky 1998 Tom Brown's School Days 1857 1916 On the Road 1957 The Dharma Bums 1958 Fatelessness 1975 My Struggle series 2009–2011 Sons and Lovers 1913 Richard Yates 2010 John Barleycorn 1913 The Hasheesh Eater 1857 A River Runs Through It and Other Stories 1976 Flowering Nettle 1934 Of Human Bondage 1915 Tropic of Cancer 1934 Tropic of Capricorn 1939 The Tao of Muhammad Ali 1996 Ciaphas Cain 2003 The Things They Carried 1990 A Personal Matter 1964 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 1973 The Bell Jar 1963 In Search of Lost Time 1927 Shantaram 2003 Anywhere but Here 1986 The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas 1933 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 1971 Childhood 1852 Boyhood 1854 Youth 1856 A Voice Through a Cloud 1950 Maiden Voyage 1943 Night 1958 Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit 1985 Of Time and the River 1935 Look Homeward, Angel 1929 Old School 2003
See also
Autofiction Autobiografiction Biography in literature Roman à clef
Notes
References