Autobiography is a type of biography in which the author tells the story of his or her own life. Autobiographies give readers an inside view of the lives of interesting people. They also may provide eyewitness descriptions of historical events or accounts by people who helped shape such events. Some people use autobiographies to explain or justify actions in their lives. Some autobiographies are inspired by feelings of nostalgia for the author’s past. Still others are written by celebrities who feel they can earn money from the public’s curiosity about their lives.
The first genuine autobiography is generally considered to be the Confessions (about A.D. 400) by the early Christian leader Saint Augustine. The book tells of Augustine’s spiritual struggles and triumphs. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1789) is probably the most famous American autobiography. Franklin wished to give his son and other young people a model they could imitate so they could succeed and be well known.
Many authors have written novels that are largely autobiographical. For example, the Irish novelist James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) closely resembles the author’s early life. Some authors have written novels in the form of autobiographies. For example, the English author Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels (1726) as a ship’s surgeon’s autobiographical account of experiences in strange lands. Some authors have written autobiographical poems. Examples include works by two British poets, William Wordsworth’s The Prelude (1850) and John Betjeman’s Summoned by Bells (1960).
