A roman a clef is a novel about real life events overlaid with a facade of fiction, in which fictitious names stand in for real people. The key linking the fiction to the real people and events it describes may be published separately by the author as an explicit guide, or left implied through epigraphs and other literary techniques.
Facts
Place of OriginFrance, where Madeleine de Scudery originated the form in the 17th century. 1 Notable ExampleThe Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1926), among the genre's English-language examples. 1 Defining TraitThe novel's fictitious names conceal real people, linked by a metaphorical key that may be explicit or implied through epigraphs and other literary techniques. 1 Connections
Sources
1. Roman a Clef (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, second paragraph
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.
Lead section, final paragraph
English-language examples include The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1926), Wigs on the Green by Nancy Mitford (1935), The Bell Jar (1963) by Sylvia Plath, and The Devil Wears Prada (2003) by Lauren Weisberger.
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