Editing Roman à clef

{{Short description|Literary genre}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}

[[File:Key to Manley Atalantis 1713.png|thumb|Key to vol. 2 of [[Delarivier Manley]]'s ''[[The New Atalantis]]'' (1709)]]

A '''''roman à clef''''' ({{IPAc-en|r|oU|,|m|Q|n|_|@|_|'|k|l|eI}} {{respell|roh|MON|_|ə|_|KLAY}}, {{IPA|fr|ʁɔmɑ̃n‿a kle|lang}}; {{lit|novel with a key}}) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roman+%C3%A0+clef|title=Definition of ROMAN À CLEF|website=www.merriam-webster.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Serafin |first1=Steven R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVRHUusi38kC&dq=roman+%25C3%25A0+clef+faction&pg=PA525
| page = 525 |title=The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature |last2=Bendixen |first2=Alfred |date=1 September 2005 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-8264-1777-0 |language=en}}</ref> The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ousby |first=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=43oBE1nJXaMC&q=roman+a+clef+literature
 |title=The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Literature in English |date=23 February 1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-43627-4 |language=en}}</ref> This metaphorical key may be produced separately—typically as an explicit guide to the text by the author—or implied, through the use of [[epigraph (literature)|epigraphs]] or other [[literary technique]]s.<ref name="ro.uow.edu.au">{{Cite journal |last=Boyde |first=Melissa |date=2009-11-01 |title=The Modernist *roman à clef* and Cultural Secrets, or, I Know that You Know that I Know that You Know |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.20314/als.dfae519805 |journal=Australian Literary Studies |doi=10.20314/als.dfae519805 |issn=0004-9697}}</ref>

[[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.<ref name="ro.uow.edu.au" /> An author might choose the ''roman à clef'' as a means of satire, of writing about controversial topics, reporting inside information on [[scandal]]s 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 autobiographical experiences without having to expose the author as the subject, avoiding incrimination that could be used as evidence in civil, criminal or disciplinary proceeding, the ability to change the background and personalities of key participants and the settling of scores.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Biographically inspired works have also appeared in other literary genres and art forms, notably the {{Lang|fr|[[film à clef]]}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Films à clef - LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies {{!}} Library of Congress, from LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress) |url=https://id.loc.gov/authorities/genreForms/gf2016026012.html |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=id.loc.gov}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Novels}}
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* [[Allegory]]
* [[All persons fictitious disclaimer]]
* [[Autobiografiction]]
* [[Autobiographical novel]]
* [[Autofiction]]
* [[Blind item]]
* [[Creative nonfiction]]
* [[Defamation]]
* [[Gonzo journalism]]
* [[Historical fiction]]
* [[List of narrative techniques]]
* [[Nomen à clef]]
* [[Non-fiction novel]]
* [[Real person fiction]]
* [[Semi-fiction]]
* [[Small penis rule]]
* [[Self-insertion]]
* [[Author surrogate]]
* [[Tuckerization]]
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== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* Amos, William (1985). ''The Originals: Who's Really Who in Fiction''. London: Cape. {{ISBN|0-7221-1069-3}}.
* [[Brian Busby|Busby, Brian]] (2003). ''Character Parts: Who's Really Who in [[Canadian literature|CanLit]]''. Toronto: Knopf Canada. {{ISBN|0-676-97579-8}}.
* Rintoul, M.C. (2014). ''Dictionary of Real People and Places in Fiction''

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[[Category:Roman à clef novels| ]]
[[Category:Biographical novels| ]]
[[Category:Literary genres]]
[[Category:French words and phrases]]