10 Female Writers Who Used Men’s Names To Achieve Success

In past centuries, literature was considered a thing for men. Indeed, it was unthinkable that a woman could show characteristics of intelligence, because this was seen as a transgression. Even publishers traditionally worked only with men and did everything possible to prevent an author from being published. That’s why many women who wanted to write books chose to use male pseudonyms.

Although times have changed nowadays and female writers are accepted in the literary world, there are still cases of female authors who in the 21st century decided to use a pseudonym in order to be more successful.

O incredible.club compiled a list of 10 women who contributed important works to the literary world and deserve to be known by their real names. Plus, we’ve included a bonus feature featuring one of the most famous writers of the Victorian era.

Mary Ann Evans was a journalist, poet and author who published her first novel, Adam Bede, in 1859. To avoid being seen as a simple writer of romantic stories, Mary Ann used the pseudonym George Elitot, as she considered that only if she used a male name would she be taken seriously. What’s more, it would help her avoid public scrutiny. In 1874 she published Middlemarch: a study of provincial lifeone of the most famous works of English literature and which made her one of the most important writers of the Victorian era.

Nelle Harper Lee grew up in the southern United States in the 1930s, a period in which acts of racism, social class injustice and the suppression of the female gender were frequent. The writer published only two books in her life, but one of them, The sun is for everybody, is considered one of the most important in the literature of that country, as it addressed themes that directly affected that region. Lee chose to use his middle name, Harper, to sign his work because it sounded more masculine. For several years, the public thought that the author was really a man.

Alice Bradley Sheldon is recognized as one of the most famous science fiction writers of her time. Furthermore, she helped break down the paradigms that existed in perception between male and female literature. In 1968, she began using the pseudonym James Tiptree Jr. She chose James because it was one of the most common names among men, while Tiptree was inspired by a jar of jam.

Due to the themes of her books, many thought that, in reality, James was a woman, but Alice continued to use the pseudonym until 1976. Years later, in an interview, she explained why: “A masculine name seemed like a good way to camouflage myself, I felt that a man would go unnoticed. I have had many experiences in my life being the first woman in a certain occupation.”

Today, in honor of Alice’s work, an award is given in the United States to the best literary work in the science fiction or fantasy genre. The award is named after her, but in the male “James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award”.

In a small stone and wood house in Haworth, England, between 1846 and 1847 lived Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë. During this period, the sisters wrote three of the classics of romanticism: jane eyre🇧🇷 Wuthering Heights and Agnes Gray. These Victorian-era authors are considered pioneers because they paved the way for other women to be accepted into the world of literature.

Charlotte Brontëunder the pseudonym Currer Bell, is responsible for one of the most recognized books of all time, jane eyre🇧🇷

Emily Brontë used the name Ellis Bell to publish Wuthering Heights🇧🇷

Anne Bronte signed as Acton Bell the book Agnes Gray🇧🇷

The three novels went on sale in 1847, and the sisters used their initials to create their pseudonyms.

Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin began using the pseudonym George Sand in 1831 after she divorced her husband and moved to Paris. She also took the opportunity to start wearing men’s clothing, which allowed her to walk the Parisian streets in freedom and gain access to places where women were forbidden to enter. That’s how she managed to establish friendships with some of the most famous French intellectuals of her time, among them Victor Hugo, Voltaire and Jules Verne. She wrote more than 140 novels, plays and newspaper opinion columns in which she freely expressed about the political situation in France after the revolution.

Danish writer Karen Blixen has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature on two separate occasions. Years earlier, under the name of Isak Dinesen, she had published the collection seven gothic tales🇧🇷 She lived for a long time in Kenya and even learned to speak Swahili. It was her experience in that country that inspired her to write one of her most memorable novels, the african farm🇧🇷 Isak Dinesen wasn’t the only male pseudonym Karen used: she also signed with the name Pierre Andrézel.

Not only female authors of past centuries chose to use male names. This is the case with Magnus Flyte, which is actually the pseudonym used by the writing duo of Christina Lynch and Meg Howrey. The women adopted this name in 2012 to publish their novel The City of Dark Magic🇧🇷 They felt that using a male name would attract male and female readers.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, French author Violet Paget established herself as one of the most respected prolific writers of her time. Paget’s works were a range of subjects that highlighted travel, art criticism, music, supernatural stories, and essays on feminism, World War I, and liberalism. Violet chose the name Vernon Lee to sign her literary works. His ghost and spirit novels are the most famous.

The French Eugénie-Caroline Saffray began writing in prose and poetry under the name Marie David. It was not until 1860 that she adopted the pseudonym Raoul de Navery in honor of her grandfather. Saffray’s works were influenced by Catholicism and moral values.

J. K. Rowling is the most read writer of all time: she is the creator of the literary saga Harry Potter, which has sold over 500 million copies worldwide. The case of the Englishwoman is paradigmatic, because at the time of publication of the first installment of the series, her publisher advised her not to use the first name Joanne, as they considered that children would not read a book if they knew it was written by a woman. In an interview, Rowling explained the decision: “At that time, to be honest, if they told me I should call myself Rupert, I probably would have accepted it. I was needing”.

In 2013, she once again used a pseudonym. On that occasion, she chose Robert Galbraith to publish her adult novel and thus avoid comparisons and high expectations.

One of the most recognized novels of romanticism is Pride and Prejudice🇧🇷 Its cover does not bear the author’s name, it just says: “A novel in three parts written by a lady”. Jane Austen is now considered a classic of literature. The protagonists of his three novels — Reason and sensibility🇧🇷 Emma and Pride and Prejudice — struggle daily with an internal pendulum between doing what society expects of them and liberalism and self-identity that, no matter how much social rules dictate, they cannot repress. Furthermore, they had a touch of irony. While she lived, Austen signed her books with the pseudonym “A Lady”.

Did you know that these literary works were written by women? Which of these books have you read? Do you think it’s easier for a writer to publish a novel these days?