Pen Names

Do you Know the True Identity of your Favorite Author?

Aug 31, 2007 Vickie Britton

Many authors choose to write under several different names or pseudonyms. Sometimes, the discovery comes as a surprise to the reader.

Throughout history, many authors have chosen to write under a pen name or pseudonym for different reasons. French philosopher Francois Marie Arouet (1694-1778) wrote under a number of pen names, his most famous one being Voltaire. His used a pen name because his political views kept him in constant threat of imprisonment and exile from France. Daniel DeFoe (1660-1731) also wrote under a number of pen names including Eye Witness, T. Taylor, and Andrew Morton, Merchant, because his political writings created many enemies.

French novelist Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin (George Sand-1804-1876) and English author Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot-1819-1880) also wanted to keep their identities a secret, but for an entirely different reason. At the time they wrote, female writers were not as well-accepted as men.

Samuel Clemens (1835-1910) chose a humorous pen name from his days of working as a pilot on the Mississippi. “Mark twain” was a common riverboat phrase often heard called out, meaning the water was two fathoms, or twelve feet, deep enough for safe passage.

Edward Alexander Crowley (1875-1947) wrote under 150 different seudonyms.

In contemporary times, authors often use pen names when writing for more than one publisher or when writing in different genres. Many prolific authors use one or multiple pen names.

Ten Famous Classic Authors with Pen Names

Samuel Clemens Mark Twain

Emily Bronte Ellis Bell

Charlotte Bronte Currer Bell

Charles Lutwidge Dodson Lewis Carroll

Alexey Maximovich Peskov Maxim Gorky

William Sydney Porter O. Henry

Hector Hugh Munroe Saki

Dame Agatha Christie Mary Westmacott

Cecil Day Lewis Nicholas Blake

Louisa May Alcott A.M. Barnard, Aunt Weedy, Flora Fairfield,

Oranthy Bluggage and Minerva Moody

A Selection of Authors from the 1950s through Current times with Pen Names

Or Multiple Pen Names:

Elizabeth MacKintosh: (mystery writer) best known as Josephine Tey, Gordon Daviot

Eleanor Hibbert: Victoria Holt (romantic suspense) Phillippa Carr (Daughters of England Series) Jean Plaidy

Barbara Mertz : Elizabeth Peters (Egyptology series) Barbara Michaels (romantic suspense, gothic)

Jasmine Cresswell: (romance) Jasmine Candlish, Jasmine Craig

Michael Crichton: Michael Douglas, Jeffrey Hudson, John Lange

Dean Koontz: David Axton, Leonard Chris, Brian Coffey, Deanna Dwyer, K.R. Dwyer, Leigh Nichols, Arthur North, Richard Page, Owen West.

Stephen King: ichard Bachman (most well-known), John Swithen

Joyce Carol Oates: Lauren Kellly, Rosamund Smith (murder mysteries)

David John Moore Cornwell : John Le Carre

Nora Roberts: J. D. Robb (mysteries)

Sandra Brown: Laura Jordon, Erin St. Claire, Rachel Ryan

Take a Quiz:

Pen Names

Joyce Carol Oates

Websites that list more authors and their pen names:

Look up your Favorite Author (Authors listed in alphabetical order)

A listing of Famous Authors and their pen names:

The copyright of the article Pen Names in Resources for Writers is owned by Vickie Britton. Permission to republish Pen Names in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.