Learn English – A novel/book equivalent of the term off-screen

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Off-screen can be used to describe events in a movie or tv show. For example,

"Harry's father dies off-screen"

What term or phrase can I use if I'm talking about events in a book?

"Harry's father dies —-"

Same question for on-screen.

Best Answer

Before we had the (silver) screen, we had a stage.

Something that was not visible to the audience happened offstage, which freedictionary describes as:

adj. 1. Situated or taking place in the area of a stage that is invisible to the audience.
adv. 2.b. Behind the scenes; not visible to the public: The meetings between the leaders took place offstage.

I see no problem applying this to a book, the stage idiom being quite commonly understood and quite adaptable (offstage can also refer to non-theater settings, meaning in private, as opposed to the part of one's life that takes place “in the spotlights”.)

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