List of fictional diaries explained

This is a list of fictional diaries categorized by type, including fictional works in diary form, diaries appearing in fictional works, and hoax diaries.

The first category, fictional works in diary form, lists fictional works where the story, or a major part of the story, is told in the form of a character's diary.[1] Diary form is frequently used in fiction for young adults and tweens as well as adults.[2] [3] It has been used for multiple books in a series following the diarist's life over many years, such as the Adrian Mole series, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and the Dork Diaries series, all of which chronicle the lives of characters who start a diary as children or adolescents and continue their diary as they mature over time. Fictionalised diaries set during distinct historical periods or events have been used since at least the 1970s to bring history to life for young people.[4] Dear America, My Australian Story and related series are recent examples of this genre. The form is also frequently used for fiction about adult women's lives,[5] some notable examples being Bridget Jones's Diary, The Color Purple, and Pamela.

The second category lists fictional works that are not written in diary form, but in which a character keeps a diary, or a diary is otherwise featured as part of the story. Some common uses for diaries in fiction are to reveal to the reader material that is concealed from other characters, to divulge information about past events, or as a device to provide real or false evidence to investigators in mystery or crime fiction.[6] Examples of diaries being used in one of these ways include Amy Dunne's false diary in Gone Girl and Laura Palmer's secret diary in Twin Peaks.

The third category lists hoax diaries, that were presented as being true diaries of real people when first published, but were later discovered to be fiction. Go Ask Alice, the first of a number of books by Beatrice Sparks purported to be based on diaries of real teenagers, was originally presented by Sparks as the non-fictional diary of an anonymous teenage girl,[7] but was later classified by publishers as fiction.[8]

Fictional works in diary form

A German Destiny in Diary Form by Joseph Goebbels

The Diary of Anonymous, A Pregnant Teenager (1998)

Diaries appearing in fictional works

Sections of the novel deal with the Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing.

Mindfang keeps a journal. Rose chronicles her adventures within Sburb.

Upon death, James Donovan Halliday releases Anorak's Almanac, an extensive look into the pop-culture he consumed.

Dr Delia Surrige keeps a diary.

The vigilante Rorschach keeps a journal which becomes a significant plot point.

Hoax diaries

See also

Notes and References

  1. Duyfhuizen . Bernard . Diary Narratives in Fact and Fiction. Reviewed Works: Diary Fiction: Writing as Action by H. Porter Abbott; A Book of One's Own: People and Their Diaries by Thomas Mallon; The Diary Novel by Lorna Martens . Novel: A Forum on Fiction . Winter 1986 . 19 . 2 . 171–178 . Duke University Press. 1345552 . 10.2307/1345552 .
  2. News: Westcott . Rebecca . 2014-04-03 . Children's Books Top 10s: Top 10 Diary Books . . . 2016-01-05 .
  3. News: Redmond . Moira . 2014-01-14 . Dear Diary, How Did You Become Part of Our Literary Culture? . . . 2016-01-05 .
  4. Storey . Dee C. . Reading in the Content Areas: Fictionalized Biographies and Diaries for Social Studies . The Reading Teacher . April 1982 . 35 . 7 . 796–798 . International Literacy Association and Wiley. 20198101 .
  5. Book: Abbott . H. Porter . Herman . David . Jahn . Manfred . Ryan . Marie-Laure . Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory . . 2005 . 106 . Diary . https://books.google.com/books?id=oX8hmVw_yXYC&pg=PA106 . 1134458401.
  6. Book: Emrys, A.B. . 2011 . Willkie Collins, Vera Caspary and the Evolution of the Casebook Novel . . . 978-0-7864-4786-2.
  7. Alleen Pace Nilsen, "The House That Alice Built", School Library Journal, October 1979, pp. 109-112.
  8. Ben Yagoda, Memoir: A History. New York: Riverhead Books, 2009.
  9. News: Thirlwell. Adam. Imaginary Conspiracies. The New York Review of Books 2022 . en. 2021-10-26. 0028-7504.
  10. Web site: 2021-08-13. The Luminous Novel by Mario Levrero review – an extraordinary autofictional diary. 2021-10-26. the Guardian. en.
  11. Jeanne Preston (Editor), The Diary of a Farmer's Wife, 1796–97, Penguin Books Ltd; New edition 29 October 1992,, accessed 13 December 2015)
  12. News: Tomalin . Claire . Claire Tomalin . Letters: Oct 19: Spoofs and Pepys . 13 June 2019 . The Guardian . 18 October 2002.

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