Editing Autobiographical novel

{{Short description|A description of autobiographical novel}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

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 [[Autobiography|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."<ref>{{cite book |author1=Hans Vandevoorde |title=Handbook of Autobiography / Autofiction |chapter=3.20 Fictional Autobiography |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110279818-076 |website=Degruyter.com |access-date=10 April 2024 |doi=10.1515/9783110279818-076 |date=2019|pages=603–610 |isbn=978-3-11-027981-8 }}</ref>

Because an autobiographical novel is partially fiction, the author does not ask the reader to expect the text to fulfill the "autobiographical pact".<ref>Philippe Lejeune, "Autobiographical Pact", pg. 19.</ref> 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.<ref name="sg">{{cite web |author1=Sean Glatch |title=WHAT IS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL FICTION? AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GENRE |url=https://writers.com/what-is-autobiographical-fiction |website=Writers.com |access-date=10 April 2024 |date=2021}}</ref>

A distinguish between fully autobiographical novels explained above, and '''semi-autobiographical novels''' can be made. The latter, also known as a [[roman à clef]], are fictional works based on the author's own life. [[Sylvia Plath]]'s ''[[The Bell Jar]]'' is often considered to be an example of a semi-autobiographical novel.<ref name="sg" />

== Notable autobiographical novels ==
{{See also|Category:Autobiographical novels}} <!-- perhaps this list should be eliminated now that the category exists? Also, make sure a book is truly "notable" that it is not an actual autobiography or memoir -->

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
!Author
!Title
!Year
|-
| {{sortname|James|Agee}}
| ''[[A Death in the Family]]''
| 1957
|-
| {{sortname|Louisa May|Alcott}}
| ''[[Little Women]]''
| 1868
|-
| {{sortname|Sherman|Alexie}}
| ''[[The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian]]''
| 2007
|-
| {{sortname|Maya|Angelou}}
| ''[[I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings]]''
| 1969
|-
| {{sortname|James|Baldwin}}
| ''[[Go Tell It on the Mountain (novel)|Go Tell It on the Mountain]]''
| 1953
|-
| {{sortname|J. G. |Ballard}}
| ''[[Empire of the Sun (novel)|Empire of the Sun]]''
| 1984
|-
| {{sortname|John|Barth}}
| ''[[Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera]]''
| 1994
|-
| {{sortname|Saul|Bellow}}
| ''[[The Adventures of Augie March]]''
| 1953
|-
| {{sortname|George|Borrow}}
| ''[[Lavengro|Lavengro: The Scholar, the Gypsy, the Priest]]''
| 1851
|-
| {{sortname|Charlotte|Brontë}}
| ''[[Villette (novel)|Villette]]''
| 1853
|-
| {{sortname|Rita Mae|Brown}}
| ''[[Rubyfruit Jungle]]''
| 1973
|-
| {{sortname|Charles|Bukowski}}
| ''[[Post Office (novel)|Post Office]]''
| 1971
|-
| {{sortname|William S. |Burroughs}}
| ''[[Junkie (novel)|Junkie]]''
| 1953
|-
| {{sortname|Samuel|Butler|link=Samuel Butler (novelist)}}
| ''[[The Way of All Flesh]]''
| 1903
|-
| {{sortname|Louis Ferdinand|Céline}}
| ''[[Journey to the End of the Night]]''
| 1932
|-
| {{sortname|J. M. |Coetzee}}
| ''[[Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life]]''
| 1997
|-
| {{sortname|J. M. |Coetzee}}
| ''[[Youth: Scenes from Provincial Life II]]''
| 2002
|-
| {{sortname|J. M. |Coetzee}}
| ''[[Summertime (novel)|Summertime]]''
| 2009
|-
| {{sortname|Charles|Dickens}}
| ''[[David Copperfield]]''
| 1850
|-
| {{sortname|Charles|Dickens}}
| ''[[Great Expectations]]''
| 1861
|-
| {{sortname|Nodar|Dumbadze}}
| ''[[Granny, Iliko, Illarion, and I]]''
| 1960
|-
| {{sortname|Nodar|Dumbadze}}
| ''[[The Sunny Night]]''
| 1967
|-
| {{sortname|Marguerite|Duras}}
| ''[[The Lover (Duras novel)|The Lover]]''
| 1984
|-
| {{sortname|George|Eliot}}
| ''[[The Mill on the Floss]]''
| 1860
|-
| {{sortname|Ralph|Ellison}}
| ''[[Invisible Man]]''
| 1952
|-
| {{sortname|Annie|Ernaux}}
|[[Happening (novel)|''Happening'']]
|2000
|-
| {{sortname|Annie|Ernaux}}
|[[The Years (Ernaux novel)|''The Years'']]
|2008
|-
| {{sortname|Frederick|Exley}}
| ''[[A Fan's Notes]]''
| 1967
|-
| {{sortname|F. Scott|Fitzgerald}}
| ''[[This Side of Paradise]]''
| 1920
|-
| {{sortname|James|Frey}}
| ''[[A Million Little Pieces]]''{{efn|''A Million Little Pieces'' was marketed as a memoir before a media controversy questioned its accuracy}}
| 2003
|-
| {{sortname|James|Frey}}
| ''[[My Friend Leonard]]''{{efn|''My Friend Leonard'' was marketed as a memoir before a media controversy questioned its accuracy}}
| 2005
|-
| {{sortname|Jean|Genet}}
| ''[[The Thief's Journal]]''
| 1949
|-
| {{sortname|Jean|Genet}}
| ''[[Our Lady of the Flowers]]''
| 1943
|-
| {{sortname|John|Green}}
| ''[[Looking for Alaska]]''
| 2005
|-
| {{sortname|Graham|Greene}}
| ''[[The End of the Affair]]''
| 1951
|-
| {{sortname|Ernest|Hemingway}}
| ''[[A Farewell to Arms]]''
| 1929
|-
| {{sortname|Homer|Hickam}}
| ''[[October Sky (book)|October Sky]]''
| 1998
|-
| {{sortname|Thomas|Hughes}}
| ''[[Tom Brown's School Days]]''
| 1857
|-
| {{sortname|James|Joyce}}
| ''{{Sortname|A|Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man}}''
| 1916
|-
| {{sortname|Jack|Kerouac}}
| ''[[On the Road]]''
| 1957
|-
| {{sortname|Jack|Kerouac}}
| ''[[The Dharma Bums]]''
| 1958
|-
| {{sortname|Imre|Kertész}}
| ''[[Fatelessness]]''
| 1975
|-
| {{sortname|Karl Ove|Knausgård}}
| ''[[My Struggle (Knausgård novels)|My Struggle]]'' series
| 2009–2011
|-
| {{sortname|D. H. |Lawrence}}
| ''[[Sons and Lovers]]''
| 1913
|-
| {{sortname|Tao|Lin}}
| ''[[Richard Yates (novel)|Richard Yates]]''
| 2010
|-
| {{sortname|Jack|London}}
| ''[[John Barleycorn (novel)|John Barleycorn]]''
| 1913
|-
| {{sortname|Fitz Hugh|Ludlow}}
| ''[[The Hasheesh Eater]]''
| 1857
|-
| {{sortname|Norman|Maclean}}
| ''[[A River Runs Through It (novel)|A River Runs Through It and Other Stories]]''
| 1976
|-
| {{sortname|Harry|Martinson}}
| ''[[Flowering Nettle]]''
| 1934
|-
| {{sortname|W. Somerset|Maugham}}
| ''[[Of Human Bondage]]''
| 1915
|-
| {{sortname|Henry|Miller}}
| ''[[Tropic of Cancer (novel)|Tropic of Cancer]]''
| 1934
|-
| {{sortname|Henry|Miller}}
| ''[[Tropic of Capricorn (novel)|Tropic of Capricorn]]''
| 1939
|-
| {{sortname|Davis|Miller}}
| ''[[The Tao of Muhammad Ali]]''
| 1996
|-
| {{sortname|Sandy|Mitchell|link=Sandy Mitchell (novelist)}}
| ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]''
| 2003
|-
| {{sortname|Tim|O'Brien|link=Tim O'Brien (author)}}
| ''[[The Things They Carried]]''
| 1990
|-
| {{sortname|Kenzaburō|Ōe}}
| ''[[A Personal Matter]]''
| 1964
|-
| {{sortname|Robert M. |Pirsig}}
| ''[[Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance]]''
| 1973
|-
| {{sortname|Sylvia|Plath}}
| ''[[The Bell Jar]]''
| 1963
|-
| {{sortname|Marcel|Proust}}
| ''[[In Search of Lost Time]]''{{efn|Also known as ''Remembrance of Things Past''|name=Proust}}
| 1927
|-
| {{sortname|Gregory David|Roberts}}
| ''[[Shantaram (novel)|Shantaram]]''
| 2003
|-
| {{sortname|Mona|Simpson}}
| ''[[Anywhere but Here (novel)|Anywhere but Here]]''
| 1986
|-
| {{sortname|Gertrude|Stein}}
| ''[[The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas]]''
| 1933
|-
| {{sortname|Hunter S. |Thompson}}
| ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]]''
| 1971
|-
| {{sortname|Leo|Tolstoy}}
| ''[[Childhood (Tolstoy novel)|Childhood]]''
| 1852
|-
| {{sortname|Leo|Tolstoy}}
| ''[[Boyhood (novel)|Boyhood]]''
| 1854
|-
| {{sortname|Leo|Tolstoy}}
| ''[[Youth (Tolstoy novel)|Youth]]''
| 1856
|-
| {{sortname|Denton|Welch}}
| ''[[A Voice Through a Cloud]]''
| 1950
|-
| {{sortname|Denton|Welch}}
| ''[[Maiden Voyage (novel)|Maiden Voyage]]''
| 1943
|-
| {{sortname|Elie|Wiesel}}
| ''[[Night (memoir)|Night]]''{{efn|''Night'' is sometimes considered an autobiographical novel, although it is classified as a memoir by the author|name=Wiesel}}
| 1958
|-
| {{sortname|Jeanette|Winterson}}
| ''[[Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit]]''
| 1985
|-
| {{sortname|Thomas|Wolfe}}
| ''[[Of Time and the River]]''
| 1935
|-
| {{sortname|Thomas|Wolfe}}
| ''[[Look Homeward, Angel]]''
| 1929
|-
| {{sortname|Tobias|Wolff}}
| ''[[Old School (novel)|Old School]]''{{efn|''Old School'' is loosely based on Wolff's life although it is more novel than biography|name=Wolff}}
| 2003
|}

== See also ==

* [[Autofiction]]
* [[Autobiografiction]]
* [[Biography in literature]]
* [[Roman à clef]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autobiographical Novel}}
[[Category:Literary genres]]
[[Category:Autobiographies| ]]
[[Category:Novels about writers]]
[[Category:Autobiographical novels| ]]
[[Category:Non-fiction novels]]