List of fictional diaries

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 installment of Diary of a Nobody in Punch (1888)

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

Diaries appearing in fictional works
  • The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler: Flannery Culp keeps diaries.
  • Cloud Atlas: Sections of the novel deal with the Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing.
  • Doctor Who (television series): The Doctor keeps a "500 year diary", Joan Redfern keeps "A Journal of Impossible Things", and Melody Pond/ River Song keeps "River Song's Diary".
  • Elfquest (comics): Cam Triomphe keeps a diary (mentioned in the sub-series Fire-Eye and The Rebels).
  • Future Diary (manga and anime): The combatants of the battle royale game each have their own unique cellphone diary with special abilities of describing the future.
  • Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: Amy Dunne keeps a diary.
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling: A magical diary created by Tom Riddle plays a role in the story and is eventually destroyed.
  • Homestuck: Mindfang keeps a journal. Rose chronicles her adventures within Sburb.
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (film): Dr. Henry Walton Jones Sr. keeps a "Grail Diary".
  • John Winchester's diary in the TV show Supernatural: The diary Sam and Dean's father keeps to record a list of supernatural creatures.
  • Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov: The narrator Humbert keeps a diary, where he records his secret thoughts about Lolita and her mother.
  • Low Red Moon by Caitlín R. Kiernan: Caroline Snow keeps a diary.
  • Mort and other Discworld books by Terry Pratchett: The diaries of every sentient being ever to live on the Discworld appear.
  • Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut: Memoirs of a Monogamous Casanova, the erotic diary of the protagonist, Howard W. Campbell.
  • Mrs Dale's Diary (BBC Radio Series): The diary mentioned in the title is part of the story.
  • The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan: The character Darren Shan keeps a diary.
  • Star Trek episodes often contain entries in the Captain's log.
  • Superman (comics): Superman keeps a giant-sized diary at his Fortress of Solitude.
  • The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë: The character Helen Graham gives the narrator Gilbert Markham her diaries to read; the diaries constitute the second volume of the novel.
  • Twin Peaks (television series) by David Lynch: Laura Palmer keeps a diary.
  • V for Vendetta: Dr Delia Surrige keeps a diary.
  • Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis: Eustace Clarence Scrubb keeps a diary.
  • The Vampire Diaries (television series): Elena Gilbert, Jonathan Gilbert, and Stefan Salvatore all keep journals.
  • Watchmen: The vigilante Rorschach keeps a journal which becomes a significant plot point.

Hoax diaries
  • The Diary of a Surgeon in the Year 1751–1752 (1938)
  • Surgeon's Mate: the diary of John Knyveton, surgeon in the British fleet during the Seven Years War 1756–1762 (1942)
  • Man midwife; the further experiences of John Knyveton, M.D., late surgeon in the British fleet, during the years 1763–1809 (1946)
  • Diary of Elizabeth Pepys (1991) by Dale Spender [10]
  • The Journal of Mrs Pepys (1998) by Sara George.[10]

See also

References
  1. Duyfhuizen, Bernard (Winter 1986). "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. Duke University Press. 19 (2): 171–178. doi:10.2307/1345552. JSTOR 1345552.
  2. Westcott, Rebecca (2014-04-03). "Children's Books Top 10s: Top 10 Diary Books". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  3. Redmond, Moira (2014-01-14). "Dear Diary, How Did You Become Part of Our Literary Culture?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  4. Storey, Dee C. (April 1982). "Reading in the Content Areas: Fictionalized Biographies and Diaries for Social Studies". The Reading Teacher. International Literacy Association and Wiley. 35 (7): 796–798. JSTOR 20198101.
  5. Abbott, H. Porter (2005). "Diary". In Herman, David; Jahn, Manfred; Ryan, Marie-Laure (eds.). Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory. Routledge. p. 106.
  6. Emrys, A.B. (2011). Willkie Collins, Vera Caspary and the Evolution of the Casebook Novel. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 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. Jeanne Preston (Editor), The Diary of a Farmer's Wife, 1796–97, Penguin Books Ltd; New edition 29 October 1992, ISBN 0140157069, accessed 13 December 2015)
  10. Tomalin, Claire (18 October 2002). "Letters: Oct 19: Spoofs and Pepys". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
This literature-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.