--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: However you disguise novels, they are…" description: "\"However you disguise novels, they are always biographies.\" — William Golding" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/william-golding-1233_biographies_however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-alw_375986.png" --- # However you disguise novels, they are always biographies. ![“However you disguise novels, they are always biographies.” quote by William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/william-golding-1233_biographies_however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-alw_375986.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/william-golding-1233_biographies_however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-alw_375986.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/william-golding-1233_biographies_however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-alw_375986.png) > “However you disguise novels, they are always biographies.” [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All stories, even fictional ones, reflect real lives and experiences. **In simple terms:** Novels are disguised biographies. Key Takeaway Read fiction as a mirror of reality. Themes literature identity truth Mood reflective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - therapy - cultural analysis Key Concepts narrative autobiography symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does a story’s realism affect you? - What can you learn about yourself from fictional characters? A Different Perspective Fiction can also create wholly imagined worlds, not just reflect reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biographies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biographies/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Disguise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disguise/) [Disguise Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disguise-novels-3420625/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Novels Biographies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-biographies-2299140/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [What novels do that biographies don't is get at truths by penetrating the facts, by going deeper to what's underneath fact, through invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varley-o-connor/what-novels-do-that-biographies-don-t-is-get-at-truths-by-penetrating/) [Varley O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varley-o-connor/) > [I love reading. I'm very much into history, novels, biographies and I have a wide range of thrillers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-tonioli/i-love-reading-i-m-very-much-into-history-novels-biographies-and-i/) [Bruno Tonioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-tonioli/) > [My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Biography always has fulfiled this role. Robinson Crusoe is a biography, as is Tom Jones. You can go through the whole range of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/biography-always-has-fulfiled-this-role-robinson-crusoe-is-a/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [Between history and the novel stands biography, their unwanted offspring, which has brought a great embarrassment to them both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-holroyd/between-history-and-the-novel-stands-biography-their-unwanted/) [Michael Holroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-holroyd/) > [On the whole, I think you should write biographies of those you admire and respect, and novels about human beings who you think are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-fitzgerald/on-the-whole-i-think-you-should-write-biographies-of-those-you-admire/) [Penelope Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-fitzgerald/) > [At Oxford University, I studied languages so I could read the great novels as they were originally written. I took what in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beckinsale/at-oxford-university-i-studied-languages-so-i-could-read-the-great/) [Kate Beckinsale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beckinsale/) > [When you're writing a novel, you spend four years sitting in your basement and a year waiting for the book to come out and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-four-years-sitting-in-your/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Novels are more difficult simply because they are longer and require more juggling, but short stories are closer to perfection, if you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/novels-are-more-difficult-simply-because-they-are-longer-and-require/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [All novels are about crime. You'd be hard pressed to find any novel that does not have an element of crime. I don't see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/all-novels-are-about-crime-you-d-be-hard-pressed-to-find-any-novel/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) > [In ordinary detective novels you never see the consequences of what happens in a story in the next book. That you do in mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-ordinary-detective-novels-you-never-see-the-consequences-of-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I have often heard that the novel is dead. But I see novels produced, I don't know how many a week, in France. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-sarraute/i-have-often-heard-that-the-novel-is-dead-but-i-see-novels-produced-i/) [Nathalie Sarraute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalie-sarraute/) > [I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-think-of-novels-as-houses-you-live-in-them-over-the-course-of-a/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More by William Golding > [Heaven lies around us in our infancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/heaven-lies-around-us-in-our-infancy/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“Sucks to your ass-mar!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/sucks-to-your-ass-mar/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/ralph-wept-for-the-end-of-innocence-the-darkness-of-man-s-heart-and/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“Once more, amid the breeze, the shouting, the slanting sunlight on the high mountain, was shed that glamour, that strange invisible light of friendship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/once-more-amid-the-breeze-the-shouting-the-slanting-sunlight-on-the/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“There ought to be some mode of life where all love is good, where one love can't compete with another but adds to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/there-ought-to-be-some-mode-of-life-where-all-love-is-good-where-one/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/his-mind-was-crowded-with-memories-memories-of-the-knowledge-that-had/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“I stood, in shame and confusion, seeing for the first time despite my anger a different picture of Evie in her life-long struggle to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-stood-in-shame-and-confusion-seeing-for-the-first-time-despite-my/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [When you take a child who's hollering like hell, sit him on your knee, and say "once upon a time", you stop him hollering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/when-you-take-a-child-who-s-hollering-like-hell-sit-him-on-your-knee/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [I am here; and here is nowhere in particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-am-here-and-here-is-nowhere-in-particular/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [The beast was harmless and horrible; and the news must reach the others as soon as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/the-beast-was-harmless-and-horrible-and-the-news-must-reach-the/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/he-tried-to-convey-the-compulsion-to-track-down-and-kill-that-was/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [I'm scared of him," said Piggy, "and that's why I know him. If you're scared of someone you hate him but you can't stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-m-scared-of-him-said-piggy-and-that-s-why-i-know-him-if-you-re/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [The trouble was, if you were a chief you had to think, you had to be wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/the-trouble-was-if-you-were-a-chief-you-had-to-think-you-had-to-be/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“But nobody else understands about the fire. If someone threw you a rope when you were drowning. If a doctor said take this because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/but-nobody-else-understands-about-the-fire-if-someone-threw-you-a/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“I think women are foolish to pretend that they are equal to men, they are far superior and always have been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-think-women-are-foolish-to-pretend-that-they-are-equal-to-men-they/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) [Explore all 263 William Golding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) ## More Biographies quotes > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [I have my own biography of Gram Parsons - I don't want to be part of somebody else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmylou-harris/i-have-my-own-biography-of-gram-parsons-i-don-t-want-to-be-part-of/) [Emmylou Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmylou-harris/) > [Biographies of great, but especially of good men are most instructive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others. Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [All Philosophy is Biography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/all-philosophy-is-biography/) [Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/) > [Life is a biography, not a series of disconnected moments, more or less pleasurable but increasingly tedious and unsatisfying unless one imposes a purposive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/life-is-a-biography-not-a-series-of-disconnected-moments-more-or-less/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [I hope any poem I've ever written could stand on its own and not need to be a part of biography, critical theory or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-goldbarth/i-hope-any-poem-i-ve-ever-written-could-stand-on-its-own-and-not-need/) [Albert Goldbarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-goldbarth/) > [The richly cadenced prose is hypnotic, the research prodigious, the analysis acute, the mood spellbinding, and the cast of characters mythic in scale. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-richly-cadenced-prose-is-hypnotic-the-research-prodigious-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I don't want to say that most rock bands live these formulaic biography existences - but they kinda do. There's always a divorce. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/i-don-t-want-to-say-that-most-rock-bands-live-these-formulaic/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [On the other hand, when I give it closer thought, I realize I'm not enough of a dictator to conduct an orchestra because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eberhard-weber/on-the-other-hand-when-i-give-it-closer-thought-i-realize-i-m-not/) [Eberhard Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eberhard-weber/) > [It can be a long gap between the emergence of fully researched historical biographies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-fraser/it-can-be-a-long-gap-between-the-emergence-of-fully-researched/) [Antonia Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-fraser/) > [Always live your life with your biography in mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/always-live-your-life-with-your-biography-in-mind/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) [Browse all 587 Biographies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biographies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "However you disguise novels, they are always biographies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Golding" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-always-biographies/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Biographies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-always-biographies/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/william-golding-1233_biographies_however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-alw_375986.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/william-golding-1233_biographies_however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-alw_375986.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/william-golding-1233_biographies_however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-alw_375986.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“However you disguise novels, they are always biographies.” — William Golding", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Golding", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "However you disguise novels, they are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-always-biographies/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-always-biographies/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```