roman a clef

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

He is working on his next book, though currently it looks more like multiple books: a tragic romance set in the South Bronx in the 1970s, a roman à clef about his mother, a story about the summer camps he used to attend with other Korean-American kids.

From New York Times

In 1996, Mr. Evans published “Primary Colors,” the best-selling roman à clef that turned out to be by Joe Klein, about a southern governor running for president, bulldozing everyone in his wake.

From New York Times

Lane was the personal assistant to Carrie Fisher, and the book is being peddled as a roman à clef, but he denies that his bored star is based on Fisher so often and so insistently, it’s difficult to avoid the impression that he doth protest too much.

From Los Angeles Times

In truth the novel did have the appeal of a parlor game, a roman à clef inviting readers to guess the identities of the movie stars on whom the characters were loosely based.

From Los Angeles Times