Roman à clef (French pronunciation: ​[ʁɔmɑ̃ a kle], anglicised as /roʊˌmɒn ə ˈkleɪ/), French for novel with a key, is a novel about real life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction. This metaphorical key may be produced separately—typically as an explicit guide to the text by the author—or implied, through the use of epigraphs or other literary techniques.