roman à clefro‧man à clef /rəʊˌmən æ ˈkleɪ $ roʊˌmɑːn ɑː-/ noun [countable] formal 
a novel based on the actions of real people, who are given different names in the novel so that they seem to be invented characters and not real
a novel based on the actions of real people, who are given different names in the novel so that they seem to be invented characters and not real