A memoir is a nonfiction narrative based on the author's personal memories, whose assertions are understood to be factual. Although historically treated as a subcategory of biography or autobiography, since the late twentieth century the memoir has been differentiated by its narrower focus, usually a particular time, career or set of turning points in the author's life, rather than the fuller span of a life a biography or autobiography covers.
Facts
Place of OriginAncient Rome; Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico is among the earliest known memoirs. 1 Notable ExampleHenry David Thoreau's Walden (1854), recounting two years spent in a cabin near Walden Pond, became a key work of American literature. 1 Defining TraitNonfiction narrative based on personal memory, differentiated from biography or autobiography by its narrowed focus on a particular time phase, career, or event. 1 Memoir
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FAQs
Is Thoreau's Walden a memoir?
Yes; the source calls Walden an 1854 memoir of two years at Walden Pond.
Yes. The source calls Henry David Thoreau's 1854 Walden a memoir, and describes it as an exception to the usual models of memoir writing of its time. It presents his experiences over two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, emphasizes the individual's interaction with nature and independence, and became a key work of American literature, especially within Transcendentalism.
Connections
Features Author
Source Wikipedia: Georges Simenon
Source Wikipedia: Hilary Mantel
Source Wikipedia: Isaac Bashevis Singer
Source Wikipedia: Magda Szabó
Source Wikipedia: Maya Angelou
Source Wikipedia: Speak, Memory
Form Of Genre
Sources
1. Memoir (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, first paragraph
While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiography since the late 20th century, the genre is differentiated in form, presenting a narrowed focus, usually a particular time phase in someone's life or career.
From the eighteenth century section
An exception to these models is Henry David Thoreau's 1854 memoir Walden, which presents his experiences over the course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond.
Early memoirs section, first sentence
Memoirs have been written since ancient times, as shown by Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, also known as Commentaries on the Gallic Wars.
In Group: Life Writing and Personal Narrative, Lead section
A memoir (; from French mémoire [me.mwaʁ], from Latin memoria 'memory, remembrance') is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories.
View the Source Wikipedia: Maya Angelou
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Features Author: Maya Angelou, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Maya Angelou, Lead section
Maya Angelou ( AN-jə-loh; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928, May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, essayist, poet, and civil rights activist.
Wikipedia: Speak, Memory
WikipediaFeatures Author: Speak, Memory, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Speak, Memory, Lead section
Speak, Memory is a memoir by writer Vladimir Nabokov.
Wikipedia: Georges Simenon
Features Author: Georges Simenon, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Georges Simenon, Lead section
One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 novels (including 192 under his own name), 21 volumes of memoirs and many short stories, selling over 500 million copies.
Wikipedia: Hilary Mantel
Features Author: Hilary Mantel, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Hilary Mantel, Lead section
Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( man-TEL; born Thompson; 6 July 1952-22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories.
Wikipedia: Isaac Bashevis Singer
Features Author: Isaac Bashevis Singer, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Isaac Bashevis Singer, Lead section
Isaac Bashevis Singer (Yiddish: יצחק באַשעװיס זינגער; November 11, 1903, July 24, 1991) was a Polish-born Jewish American novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, essayist, and translator in the United States.
Wikipedia: Magda Szabó
Features Author: Magda Szabó, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Magda Szabó, Lead section
Doctor of philology, she also wrote dramas, essays, studies, memoirs, poetry and children's literature.
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