roman à clef

American  

[raw-mah na kle] / rɔ mɑ na ˈklɛ /

noun

French.

romans à clef plural

1. a novel that represents historical events and characters under the guise of fiction.

---

roman à clef British  

/ rɔmɑ̃ a kle /

noun

1. a novel in which real people are depicted under fictitious names

---

roman à clef Cultural  

1. A novel in which actual people and places are disguised as fictional characters. Roman à clef is French for “novel with a key.”

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• romans à clef
  plural

Etymology

Origin of roman à clef

First recorded in 1880–85; literally “novel with a key,” the key being the connection between the fictional and nonfictional elements of the novel

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

roman à clef

The story quoted a few skeptics—among them the writer Harry Monaghan, who’d written a well-received roman à clef five years prior, and who had a regular column in the Post.

From Slate ● May 27, 2023

Her third book, “American Wife,” was a darkly shaded roman à clef about a woman very much like First Lady Laura Bush.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2023

It's an adorable kind of roman à clef.

From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2022

She had previously written “A Booklover’s Guide to New York,” and a roman à clef published in France called “Une Famille.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 7, 2021

Charlotte's success, indeed, was so stunning that for all but sixty years Villette has passed for a roman à clef, the novel, not only of experience, but of personal experience.

From The Three Brontës by Sinclair, May