An autobiography is a self written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories and insights, allowing the writer to convey their own distinctive viewpoint and lived experience to readers.
Facts
Place of OriginAntiquity, with the practice of writing about one's own life traceable to Saint Augustine's Confessions around 400 AD; the term autobiography itself was first used in 1797. 1 Notable ExampleSaint Augustine's Confessions (c. 400), regarded as one of the first Western autobiographies. 1 Defining TraitA self-written account of one's own life: a personal narrative reflecting on the author's own experiences, memories and insights, distinguished from biography by being based on the author's own memory and interpretation of events. 1 Defining Trait Connections
Encompasses Form
Features Author
Source Wikidata: Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Additional Source Wikipedia: Antoine de Saint-ExupéryInfobox: genre
Source Augustine of Hippo (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Benvenuto Cellini
Source Wikipedia: Confessions (Rousseau)
Source François-René de Chateaubriand (Wikipedia)
Source Helen Keller (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Source Wikipedia: Jim Thompson (writer)
Source Mahatma Gandhi (Wikipedia)
Source Pope Pius II (Wikipedia)
Source Serge Doubrovsky (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Benvenuto Cellini
Source Wikipedia: The Diary of a Young Girl
Source Wikipedia: The Story of My Experiments with Truth
Form Of Genre
Subgenres
Source Autofiction (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Autobiography (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph, first sentence
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights.
Second paragraph, on Saint Augustine's Confessions
Early examples include Saint Augustine's Confessions (c. 400), which is considered one of the first Western autobiographies.
Second paragraph, on the term's 1797 first use
The term "autobiography" was first used in 1797, but the practice of writing about one's life dates back to antiquity.
Lead paragraph, defining sentence
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights.
In Group: Life Writing and Personal Narrative, Lead section
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights.
View the Source Wikipedia: Benvenuto Cellini
Features Author: Benvenuto Cellini, Lead
and his autobiography, which has been described as
Features Author: The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, Lead section [in-genre]
and his autobiography, which has been described as
View the SourceWikipedia: Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Features Author: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Lead paragraphQuote, Features Author: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Lead paragraph
Rousseau's autobiographical writings
Pope Pius II (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Pope Pius II, Lead paragraphQuote, Features Author: Pope Pius II, Lead paragraph
which was the first autobiography of a pope to have been published
Helen Keller (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Helen Keller, Lead, second paragraph, autobiographyQuote, Features Author: Helen Keller, Lead, second paragraph, autobiography
Keller's autobiography, The Story of My Life (1903), publicized her education and life with Sullivan
Serge Doubrovsky (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Serge Doubrovsky, Wikipedia, CareerQuote, Features Author: Serge Doubrovsky, Wikipedia, Career
publishing seven volumes of autobiography
Mahatma Gandhi (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Mahatma Gandhi, Article textQuote, Features Author: Mahatma Gandhi, Article text
In his autobiography, Gandhi states that they left an indelible impression on his mind.
Augustine of Hippo (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Augustine of Hippo, Article textQuote, Features Author: Augustine of Hippo, Article text
He tells this story in his autobiography, Confessions.
François-René de Chateaubriand (Wikipedia)
Features Author: François-René de Chateaubriand, Lead, worksQuote, Features Author: François-René de Chateaubriand, Lead, works
His works include the autobiography
Autofiction (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSubgenres: Autofiction, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Autofiction, Lead paragraph
is a form of fictionalized autobiography
Wikipedia: Confessions (Rousseau)
Features Author: Confessions, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Confessions, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Autobiography
Wikipedia: The Diary of a Young Girl
WikipediaFeatures Author: The Diary of a Young Girl, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Diary of a Young Girl, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Autobiography, Jewish literature
Wikipedia: Jim Thompson (writer)
Features Author: Jim Thompson, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Jim Thompson, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Crime fiction, hardboiled, pulp, autobiography, suspense, literary fiction
Wikipedia: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Features Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Infobox: genreQuote, Features Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Infobox: genre
Autobiography, belles-lettres, essays, children's literature
Wikipedia: The Story of My Experiments with Truth
WikipediaFeatures Author: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Lead section
The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Gujarati: સત્યના પ્રયોગો અથવા આત્મકથા, satyanā prayogo athavā ātmakathā, lit. 'Experiments of Truth or Autobiography') is the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1921.
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