French personal novel: genre problems

The article examines characteristic genre features of the French personal novel represented in the works of R. F. de Chateaubriand, J. de Stael, B. Constant, George Sand, Alfred de Musset, Charles Sainte-Beuve, O. de Balzac. The issues of continuity of the XIXth century novel genre with traditions of sentimental literature are studied. The author of the article revealed correlations between characteristic features of the novel genre and the worldview of Romantic era. Narrative principles of the genre as well as the problem of the author and protagonists of the novel are described. Particular attention is paid to the ties and links of personal autobiographical novel genre with other genres.