Autobiography: A Very Short Introduction – Laura Marcus

Autobiography is one of the most popular forms of writing: from Casanova and Benjamin Franklin to today's celebrities, people have long set down their own lives on paper. In this concise introduction, literary scholar Laura Marcus explores what an autobiography actually is.

She examines its kinship with memoirs, diaries, letters and essays, the genre's great themes such as confession and family, and the ways fiction and autobiography have shaped each other over the centuries. A clear, compact guide for anyone who loves reading about lives – or wants to write about their own.

• Part of the Very Short Introductions series (Oxford University Press)
• English, paperback, approx. 160 pages
• ISBN 9780199669240