The Author Behind the Pseudonym

Author Behind Pseudonym, The the Pseudonym Q Name I Best Known Work A.M. Barnard Louisa May Alcott Various Articles Alcott's pseudonym didn't come to light until the 1970s, when historians discovered letters belonging to the author signed off A.M. Barnard. From the letters they were able to determine that the androgynous name was behind articles published in a periodical. Acton, Ellis & Currer Bell Anne, Emily & Charlotte Brontë e Jane Eyre Prejudices of the time deemed poetry a man's business and as such, the three Brontë sisters could only get their poetry published under male pseudonyms, each beginning with the first letter of their names. Fortunately, the real identities behind works such as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall are now household names. Ayn Rand Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum O Atlas Shrugged There's no clear reason for the Russian-born author's pen name, with some claiming she chose it to protect her family back in Russia, and others saying it was to sound more American. The name 'Rand' is so to be an abbreviation of her Russian name, while some claim it is a reference to her Remington Rand typewriter. Barbara Vine Ruth RendelI Q A Dark Adapted Eye O The creator of Inspector Wexford took her pseudonym from her own middle name and her great grandmother's maiden name. Under the name Barbara Vine she wrote 14 novels which continued with the crime theme that made her famous. Boz Charles Dickens Oliver Twist It is thought the name 'Boz' originated from the nickname Dickens gave his brother Augustus, 'Moses', which when said with a cold turns into 'Boses'; this was then shortened to form the name Boz. 'Oliver Twist' was originally published under the authorship of Boz, although Dickens had a change of heart midway through the printing of the first edition and copies issued after the first week of publication list Dickens as the author. Brynjolf Bjarme Henrik Ibsen Q Catilina O The Norwegian playwright's first play 'Catilina' was published when he was 22 under a pseudonym. He later dropped the pseudonym and began putting his own names to his plays, including 'A Doll's House' and 'Hedda Gabler'. Claire Morgan Q Patricia Highsmith The Price of Salt Two years after publishing 'Strangers on a Train', Highsmith wrote 'The Price of Salt' under a pseudonym. The novel drew on her personal life and was praised for its non-stereotypical portrayal of lesbians. Highsmith didn't publicly acknowledge authorship of the novel until 1990 when it was retitled 'Carol. Clive Hamilton C. S. Lewis Q Spirits in Bondage O In 1919, C. S. Lewis had his first work 'Spirits in Bondage' published under the name Clive Hamilton - made up of his first name, Clive, and his mother's maiden name. Following the death of his wife Joy in 1960, Lewis published an exploration of grief called 'A Grief Observed' under the name N.W.Clerk to avoid being identified as the author. Dan Kavanagh Julian Barnes O Duffy Man Booker Prize-winner Barnes began writing under his pseudonym, or perhaps alter-ego, in the 1980s. Kavanagh has his own backstory, born in County Sligo in 1946 (the same year as Barnes), and his novels follow a bi-sexual detective named Duffy, a rare character type in the 80s. Dr. Seuss & Theo LeSieg Theodor Seuss Geisel Q The Cat in the Hat I Originating from Germany, 'Seuss' should in actual fact rhyme with the word 'voice', however, Dr. Seuss changed it to sound more anglicized. He added the Dr. as his father had always wanted him to go into medicine. For work that he wrote but didn't illustrate he used the name Theo LeSieg - which spells his surname backwards. George Eliot Mary Ann Evans Middlemarch While women writers weren't uncommon at the time, Evans decided to use a male pen name in order for her work to be taken more seriously. However, the pseudonym wasn't enough to fool Charles Dickens who after reading 'Scenes of Clerical Life' wrote to Eliot expressing his admiration and famously stated, "I should have been strongly disposed, if I had been left to my own devices, to address the said writer as a woman". George OrwelI A Eric Arthur Blair 8 1984 O BBC Owing to the imminent publication of 'Down and Out in Paris and London', detailing his time living in poverty in the cities, and the thought it might embarrass his family, Blair asked his publishers to think up a pseudonym. In the end he came up with the name George Orwell himself, calling it 'a good round English name'. Lewis Carroll Q Charles Lutwidge Dodgson Alice's Adventures in Wonderland The 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' author's pseudonym was a clever play on his own name. Translated into Latin 'Charles Lewis' becomes "Carolus Ludovicus', which becomes 'Carroll Lewis' in English; he then reversed the names. Man Without a Spleen & Antosha Chekhonte Anton Chekhov Various Articles I Chekhov used more than 40 pen-names, which were reserved for his satirical articles. His most commonly used name was Man Without a Spleen, a reference to his medical training which he drew on for 119 short stories. Mark Twain Q Samuel Langhorne Clemens O Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Before settling on Mark Twain, the creator of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer tried out a number of pen names, using 'Josh' until 1863. He explained he got the name from his time working on riverboats on the Mississippi where boatmen would cry 'mark twain' when measuring the depth of the river. Mary Westmacott Agatha Christie e Giant's Bread M Christie's choice of pen name coame from her middle name Mary, while Westmacott was the name of distant relatives. The name enabled her to write something removed from her usual mystery novels; fortunately the novels were well received and she managed to keep her true identity unknown for almost twenty years. Richard Bachman Q Stephen King O Rage Since 1977, King has written 7 novels under his nom de plume, which was created while he was on the phone to his publisher. On his desk at the time was a Richard Stark book, and a Bachman Turner Overdrive song was playing in the background, et voila, Richard Bachman was born. Robert Galbraith J.K. Rowling e The Cuckoo's Calling I 'The Cuckoo's Calling' was published in 2013 under the name Robert Galbraith to avoid the hype and expectation usually associated with J.K Rowling's novels. However, weeks after publication the true identity of the novelist was leaked and sales shot up by 507,000%. Rosamond Smith Q Joyce Carol Oates Lives of the Twins Oates' nom de plume was a clever feminisation of her husband Raymond Smith's name. Oates claimed the name was to help her escape from her own identity and publish 'Lives of the Twins', a short psychological mystery; however, her true identity was revealed before publication. Voltaire François-Marie Arouet 8 Candide DI The origins of the iconic name Voltaire are unclear, but the most popular theory is that it comes from the Latinised spelling of his surname. However, another more sentimental theory is that it's a nod to the nickname he had as a child, 'le petit volontaire', meaning little wilful one'. JONKERS RARE BOOKS www.jonkers.co.uk O 日 日