Roman a Clefs

Roman a Clefs (or Novel with a Key) are novels describing real-life behind a façade of fiction.  (Thank you, Wikipedia for the excellent description!)   These novels can be deliciously trashy at their best, and fun reading even at their worst.  Two of the most popular of recent years were The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger, about a woman working for a thinly fictionalized Vogue magazine and its editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, and The Nanny Diaries about nannying for the denizens of the Upper East Side. 

The publishing industry is particularly rich in these novels.  There’s Because She Can by Birdie Clark (based on notorious publisher Judith Regan), Falling Out of Fashion by Karen Yampolsky (an admiring portrayal of Jane Pratt), and Little Pink Slips by Sally Koslow (based on the fallout after Rosie O’Donnell took over McCall’s).    A particularly dishy and fun Hollywood roman a clef is The Twins of Tribeca by Rachel Pine.  This is hilarious reading for anyone interested in the movie industry as it provides a skewering look at the endlessly fascinating Weinstein brothers.  (Carol J.)