This Side Of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a famous example of an autobiographical novel

An autobiographical novel is a novel based on the life of the author. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. 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. Some people refer to such novels in shortand as autbiogs This Side Of Paradise book cover This image is a book cover. ... This Side Of Paradise book cover This image is a book cover. ... This Side of Paradise is the debut novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald. ... Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American Jazz Age author of novels and short stories. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... A literary technique or literary device may be used in works of literature in order to produce a specific effect on the reader. ... Cover of the first English edition of 1793 of Benjamin Franklins autobiography. ... As a literary genre, a memoir (from the Latin memoria, meaning memory) forms a subclass of autobiography, although it is an older form of writing. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

While the events of the author's life are recounted, there is no pretense of neutrality or even exact truth. Events may be reported the way the author wishes they had been with enemies more clearly loathsome and triumphs more complete than perhaps they actually were.

Because writers somewhat draw on their own experiences in most of their work, the term autobiographical novel is difficult to define. Novels that portray settings and/or situations with which the author is familiar are not necessarily autobiographical. Neither are novels that include aspects drawn from the author’s life as minor plot details. To be considered an autobiographical by most standards, there must be a protagonist modeled after the author and a central plotline that mirrors events in his or her life. A protagonist is the main figure of a piece of literature or drama and has the main part or role. ... Look up plot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Novels that do not fully meet these requirements or are further distanced from true events are sometimes called semi-autobiographical novels.

Many first novels, as well as novels about intense, private experiences such as war, family conflict or sex, are written as autobiographical novels. Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A family in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by analogous or comparable relationships — including domestic partnership, cohabitation, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership (as occurred in the... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Some works openly refer to themselves as 'nonfiction novels.' The definition of such works remains vague. The term was first widely used in reference to the non-autobiographical 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote but has since become associated with a range of works drawing openly from autobiography. A central focus of the non-fiction novel is the development of plot through the means of fictional narrative styles. The emphasis is on the creation of a work that is essentially true, often in the context of an investigation into values or some other aspect of reality. The books Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig and The Tao of Muhammad Ali by Davis Miller open with statements admitting to some fictionalising of events but state they are true 'in essence.' The nonfiction novel is a literary genre, formally established in 1965 with Truman Capotes publication of In Cold Blood. ... Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is the first of Robert M. Pirsigs texts in which he explores a Metaphysics of quality. ... Robert Maynard Pirsig (born September 6, 1928, Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American philosopher, mainly known as the author of the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (1974), which has sold millions of copies around the world. ... The Tao of Muhammad Ali is a book by the American author Davis Miller, published in 1996. ... Davis Miller is an American author notable for a series of works combining autobiography, a fascination with the life and careers of Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee, and an innovative approach to writing. ...

Semi-autobiographical novel

Also known as a thinly veiled memoir, a semi-autobiographical novel draws heavily on the experiences of the author's own life for its plot. Authors may opt to write a semi-autobiographical novel rather than a true memoir for a variety of reasons: to protect the privacy of their family, friends, and loved ones; to achieve emotional distance from the subject; or for artistic reasons, such as simplification of plot lines, themes, and other details.

Notable autobiographical novels

See also: Category:Autobiographical novels

• Charles Dickens, David Copperfield (1850)
• Leo Tolstoy, Childhood (1852)
• Maya Angelou, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" (1969)
• Charlotte Brontë, Villette (1853)
• Leo Tolstoy, Boyhood (1854)
• Leo Tolstoy, Youth (1856)
• Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days (1857)
• Fitz Hugh Ludlow, The Hasheesh Eater (1857)
• Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (1860), which has many autobiographical elements but to a lesser extent
• Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868)
• Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh (1903)
• D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers (1913)
• Jack London, John Barleycorn (1913)
• Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage (1915)
• James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916)
• F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise (1920)
• Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time (1927), aka A Remembrance of Things Past
• Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms (1929)
• Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel (1929)
• Louis Ferdinand Céline, Journey to the End of the Night (1932), subsequent books as well.
• Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933), a mock autobiography of Stein's secretary and companion purported to be Toklas's views of Stein.
• Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer (1934)
• Ayn Rand, We, the Living (1936)
• Henry Miller, Tropic of Capricorn (1939)
• James A. Michener, The Fires of Spring (1949), semi-autobiographical
• Graham Greene, The End of the Affair (1951)
• Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)
• James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953)
• Saul Bellow, The Adventures of Augie March (1953)
• William S. Burroughs, Junkie (1953)
• James Agee, A Death in the Family (1957)
• Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957)
• Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums (1958)
• Elie Wiesel, Night (1958), sometimes considered an autobiographical novel although classified as a memoir by the author.
• Ian Fleming, (1960's) Some of the James Bond experiences are based in his own World War II spy missions.
• Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco (1961)
• Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar (1963)
• Kenzaburo Oe, A Personal Matter (1964)
• Rita Mae Brown, Rubyfruit Jungle (1973)
• Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1973)
• Pat Conroy, The Great Santini (1976)
• Samuel R. Delany, Heavenly Breakfast (1979)
• Philip K. Dick, VALIS (1981), perhaps the only book that could be considered both an autobiographical novel and a work of science fiction
• Isabel Allende, The House of Spirits (1982), includes many elements from her family history (the notions of family and personal identity are closely linked in Latin American culture)
• Charles Bukowski, Ham on Rye (1982)
• J.G. Ballard, Empire of the Sun (1984)
• Marguerite Duras, The Lover (1984)
• Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985)
• Samuel R. Delany, The Motion of Light in Water (1988)
• Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried (1990)
• Davis Miller, The Tao of Muhammad Ali (1996), described as a 'non-fiction novel'.
• Homer Hickam, "Rocket Boys" (1998)
• James Frey, A Million Little Pieces (2003), marketed as a memoir before a media controversy questioned its accuracy.
• Tobias Wolff, Old School (2003), loosely based on Wolff's life although more novel than biography.
• James Frey, My Friend Leonard (2005)

==See also---- “Dickens” redirects here. ... David Copperfield or The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (which he never meant to be published on any account)[1] is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1850. ... Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (September 9 [O.S. August 28] 1828 – November 20 [O.S. November 7] 1910) (Russian: , IPA:  ), commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer – novelist, essayist, dramatist and philosopher – as well as pacifist Christian anarchist and educational reformer. ... Childhood (Детство [Detstvo]; 1852) is the first novel in Leo Tolstoys autobiographical trilogy. ... Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Johnson April 4, 1928)[1] is an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. ... I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a 1969 autobiographical novel about the early years of author Maya Angelous life. ... Charlotte Brontë (IPA: ) (April 21, 1816 – March 31, 1855) was an English novelist and the eldest of the three Brontë sisters whose novels have become enduring classics of English literature. ... Charlotte Brontë - idealized portrait, 1873 (based on a drawing by George Richmond, 1850) Villette is a novel by Charlotte Brontë, published in 1853. ... Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (September 9 [O.S. August 28] 1828 – November 20 [O.S. November 7] 1910) (Russian: , IPA:  ), commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer – novelist, essayist, dramatist and philosopher – as well as pacifist Christian anarchist and educational reformer. ... Boyhood (Russian: Отрочество]; 1854) is the second novel in Leo Tolstoys autobiographical trilogy. ... Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (September 9 [O.S. August 28] 1828 – November 20 [O.S. November 7] 1910) (Russian: , IPA:  ), commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer – novelist, essayist, dramatist and philosopher – as well as pacifist Christian anarchist and educational reformer. ... Youth (Russian: Юность [Yunost]; 1856) is the third novel in Leo Tolstoys autobiographical trilogy, following Childhood and Boyhood. ... A statue of Thomas Hughes at Rugby School Thomas Hughes (October 20, 1822 – March 22, 1896) was an English lawyer and author. ... Tom Browns Schooldays, first published in 1857, is a novel by Thomas Hughes, set at a public school, Rugby School for Boys, in the 1830s when Hughes himself had been a student there. ... Fitz Hugh Ludlow, sometimes seen as “Fitzhugh Ludlow,” (September 11, 1836 – September 12, 1870) was an American author, journalist, and explorer; best-known for his autobiographical book The Hasheesh Eater (1857). ... The Hasheesh Eater is an autobiographical book by Fitz Hugh Ludlow, first published in 1857. ... “Dickens” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Great Expectations (disambiguation). ... Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888) was an American novelist. ... Little Women is a novel published in 1868 and written by American author Louisa May Alcott. ... Samuel Butler Samuel Butler (December 4, 1835 - June 18, 1902) was a British writer best known for his satire Erewhon. ... For the 1927 and 1940 films, see The Way of All Flesh (film) The Way of All Flesh (1903) is a semi-autobiographical novel by Samuel Butler which attacks Victorian era hypocrisy. ... D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 - 2 March 1930) was one of the most important, certainly one of the most controversial, English writers of the 20th century, who wrote novels, short stories, poems, plays, essays, travel books, and letters. ... Sons and Lovers is an autobiographical novel written by D.H. Lawrence. ... Jack London (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916),[1][2][3] was an American author who wrote The Call of the Wild and other books. ... John Barleycorn is an autobiographical novel by Jack London dealing with his struggles with alcoholism. ... W. Somerset Maugham as photographed in 1934 by Carl Van Vechten. ... Of Human Bondage (1915) is a novel by William Somerset Maugham. ... James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (Irish Séamus Seoighe; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish expatriate writer, widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. ... A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce, first serialized in The Egoist from 1914 to 1915 and published in book form in 1916. ... Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American Jazz Age author of novels and short stories. ... This Side of Paradise is the debut novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald. ... “Proust” redirects here. ... In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past (French: À la recherche du temps perdu) is a semi-autobiographical novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust. ... Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. ... A Farewell to Arms is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway in 1929. ... Photo by Carl Van Vechten For the contemporary author and journalist, see Tom Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an important American novelist of the 20th century. ... Look Homeward, Angel is Thomas Wolfes first novel. ... Céline Céline redirects here. ... Journey to the End of the Night (Voyage au bout de la nuit, 1932) is the first novel of Louis-Ferdinand Céline. ... Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 29, 1946) was an American writer and catalyst in the development of modern art and literature, who spent most of her life in France. ... Alice B. Toklas, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1949 The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas is a 1933 autobiography of Gertrude Stein, written by Stein as if she were Alice B. Toklas. ... Henry Miller photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1940 Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American writer and, to a lesser extent, painter. ... Tropic of Cancer is a novel by Henry Miller, first published in 1934 by Obelisk Press in Paris and still in print (Grove Press 1987 paperback: ISBN 0-8021-3178-6). ... Ayn Rand (IPA: , February 2 [O.S. January 20] 1905 – March 6, 1982), born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum (Russian: ), was a Russian-born American novelist and philosopher,[1] best known for developing Objectivism and for writing the novels We the Living, The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged and the novella Anthem. ... We the Living is Ayn Rands first novel. ... Henry Miller photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1940 Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American writer and, to a lesser extent, painter. ... Tropic of Capricorn cover Tropic of Capricorn is a sexually explicit novel by Henry Miller, first published in Paris in 1938. ... James Albert Michener (February 3, 1907? - October 16, 1997) was the American author of such books as Tales of the South Pacific (for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948), Hawaii, The Drifters, Centennial, The Source, The Fires of Spring, Chesapeake, Caribbean, Caravans, Alaska, Texas, and Poland. ... This article is about the writer Graham Greene. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Ralph Ellison (March 1, 1913[1] – April 16, 1994) was a scholar and writer. ... For the H.G. Wells novel, see The Invisible Man. ... James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – November 30, 1987) was an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, poet, and essayist, best known for his novel Go Tell It on the Mountain. ... Go Tell It on the Mountain is a 1953 autobiographical novel by James Baldwin. ... Saul Bellow (left) with Keith Botsford Saul Bellow, born Solomon Bellows, (Lachine, Quebec, Canada, June 10, 1915 – April 5, 2005 in Brookline, Massachusetts) was an acclaimed Canadian-born American writer. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914) - August 2, 1997), more commonly known as William S. Burroughs (pronounced ), was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer. ... 50th anniversary edition, with Burroughs intended title spelling. ... James Rufus Agee (November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, screenwriter, journalist, poet, and film critic. ... A Death in the Family is an autobiographical novel by author James Agee, set in Knoxville, Tennessee. ... Jack Kerouac (pronounced ) (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, and artist. ... :This article is about the novel On the Road. ... Jack Kerouac (pronounced ) (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, and artist. ... The Dharma Bums cover This is an article about the novel by Jack Kerouac. ... Eliezer Wiesel, KBE (commonly known as Elie Wiesel, born September 30, 1928)[1] is a Romania-born American novelist, political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor of Hungarian Jewish descent. ... Night is a work by Elie Wiesel based on his experience, as a young Orthodox Jew, of being sent with his family to the German death camp at Auschwitz, and later to the concentration camp at Buchenwald. ... Ian Lancaster Fleming (May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) was a British author, journalist and Second World War Naval Officer. ... Nikos Kazantzakis (Greek: Νίκος Καζαντζάκης) (February 18, 1883, Heraklion, Crete, Greece - October 26, 1957, Freiburg, Germany), author of poems, novels, essays, plays, and travel books, was arguably the most important and most translated Greek writer and philosopher of the 20th century. ... Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. ... The Bell Jar is Sylvia Plaths only novel, which was originally published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas in 1963. ... Kenzaburo Oe Kenzaburo Oe , born January 31, 1935) is a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. ... A Personal Matter (個人的な体験, Kojinteki na taiken) is a novel by Japanese writer Kenzaburo Oe (大江 健三郎 Ōe Kenzaburō). The novel is replete with imagery of death, decay and sex. ... Rita Mae Brown (born November 28, 1944) is a prolific American writer and social activist, notable for novels, poetry, and screenwriting. ... Rita Mae Browns Rubyfruit Jungle Rubyfruit Jungle is the first novel (1973) by Rita Mae Brown, remarkable for its explicit lesbianism. ... Robert Maynard Pirsig (born September 6, 1928, Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American philosopher, mainly known as the author of the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (1974), which has sold millions of copies around the world. ... Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is the first of Robert M. Pirsigs texts in which he explores a Metaphysics of quality. ... Pat Conroy (born October 26, 1945 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a New York Times bestselling author who has written such acclaimed works as The Lords of Discipline, Beach Music, The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides, The Water is Wide, The Boo, My Losing Season, and Conroys stories have... WHO KNOWS. ... Samuel Ray Delany, Jr. ... Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American writer, mostly known for his works of science fiction. ... It has been suggested that Black Iron Prison be merged into this article or section. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... For the Chilean politician and daughter of Salvador Allende, see Isabel Allende Bussi. ... The House of Spirits is the first novel written by Isabel Allende. ... A family in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by analogous or comparable relationships — including domestic partnership, cohabitation, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership (as occurred in the... Identity is an umbrella term used throughout the social sciences for an individuals comprehension of him or herself as a discrete, separate entity. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Henry Charles Bukowski (August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was an influential Los Angeles poet and novelist. ... Ham on Rye is a semi-autobiographical book written by Charles Bukowski. ... James Graham Ballard (born November 18, 1930 in Shanghai) is a British novelist. ... This article is about the 1984 novel and its 1987 film adaptation. ... Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras, (April 4, 1914 – March 3, 1996) was a French writer and film director. ... The Lover (French title: LAmant) is an autobiographical novel by Marguerite Duras, published in 1984 by Les Éditions de Minuit. ... Jeanette Winterson OBE (born August 27, 1959) is a British novelist. ... Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a novel by Jeanette Winterson published in 1985, subsequently made into a BBC television serial starring Charlotte Coleman. ... Samuel Ray Delany, Jr. ... The Motion of Light in Water - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Tim OBrien Tim OBrien (born October 1, 1946) is an American novelist who mainly writes about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the impact the war had on the American soldiers who fought there. ... The Things They Carried is a collection of related vignettes by Tim OBrien, about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War, originally published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin, 1990. ... Davis Miller is an American author notable for a series of works combining autobiography, a fascination with the life and careers of Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee, and an innovative approach to writing. ... The Tao of Muhammad Ali is a book by the American author Davis Miller, published in 1996. ... Homer Hadley Hickam, Jr. ... Rocket Boys is the first memoir in a series of three, by Homer Hickam, Jr. ... James Christopher Frey (born September 12, 1969 in Cleveland, Ohio USA) is an American writer. ... A Million Little Pieces is a partially-fabricated[1] memoir by James Frey. ... As a literary genre, a memoir (from the Latin memoria, meaning memory) forms a subclass of autobiography, although it is an older form of writing. ... Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff (born June 19, 1945, in Birmingham, Alabama) is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. ... Old School is a novel by Tobias Wolff. ... James Christopher Frey (born September 12, 1969 in Cleveland, Ohio USA) is an American writer. ... My Friend Leonard (ISBN 1573223158) is a 2005 book written by James Frey. ...

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