In May we will be reading Silas Marner by George Eliot. But as we know, George Eliot is a pseudonym for Mary Ann Evans. Mary Ann chose a pen name to avoid stereotypes of women's writing being associated to superficial romantic novels and the scandal associated with her controversial lifestyle. Eventually she had to come out when a man claimed to be George Eliot himself. But still today she is better known as George Eliot, in fact this name is first on her tombstone. Who were Samuel Langhorne Clemens, A.M. Barnard, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, Eric Arthur Blair and Ellis Acton and why did they use pen names? Read on to find out! Samuel Langhorne Clemens a.k.a Mark Twain One reason for using a pseudonym is to adopt a name that reflects the writer's chosen genre or subject matter. Samuel used different pen names throughout his career but when he wrote about the Mississippi River he chose Mark Twain. Twain is an old world for "two" and on the river the boatmen shouted "by the mark twain", meaning "according to the mark [on the line], [the depth is] two [fathoms]" (3.7 m) deep and it is safe to pass." In Life on the Mississippi, he wrote: 'Captain Isaiah Sellers was not of literary turn or capacity, but he used to jot down brief paragraphs of plain practical information about the river, and sign them "MARK TWAIN", and give them to the New Orleans Picayune. They related to the stage and condition of the river, and were accurate and valuable; ... At the time that the telegraph brought the news of his death, I was on the Pacific coast. I was a fresh new journalist, and needed a nom de guerre; so I confiscated the ancient mariner's discarded one, and have done my best to make it remain what it was in his hands – a sign and symbol and warrant that whatever is found in its company may be gambled on as being the petrified truth; how I have succeeded, it would not be modest in me to say.' Loiuse May Alcott a.k.a A.M. Barnhard Alcott's family had financial difficulties, and she worked to help support the family from an early age. Perhaps she chose a pen name because it could be shameful for a man to admit that his children were working, as it meant he could not afford to maintain them himself. In fact Loiuse used an ambigious name mainly before the success of Little Women in 1868 that made her financially independent. The novels she did write under her pseudonym, like Behind a Mask (1866) were considered risqué, perhaps not appropriate for a woman and are very different from Little Women. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson a.k.a Lewis Carroll As well as being a writer, Charles had many professional roles: mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon, and photographer. A lover of word games, he considered "Edgar Cuthwellis", and Edgar U.C. Westhill (anagrams of his first two names) and first used 'B.B.' to sign his non-professional writings. But in the end a magazine editor finally chose Louis Carroll (translating his name into Latin: Lutwidge = Ludovic = Louis, Charles = Carolus). Edgar Arthur Blair a.k.a George Orwell Born Eric Arthur Blair in India, George Orwell is most famous for 1984 and Animal Farm. He chose his pen name to sound more English ( Blair is a Scottish nam ). "George" comes from the patron saint of England, Saint George, while "Orwell" comes from the River Orwell in Suffolk, one of his favorite places. Edgar wanted to keep his private life separate from his writing as if George Orwell were another person. Apparently Eric Blair chose the name George Orwell because he wanted a name that started in the middle of the alphabet so his books would appear on the middle shelf in bookstores—not too high, not too low! Ellis Bell a.k.a Emily Bronte Emily was disappointingly not so imaginative with her choice of pen name! She explains her motives thus 'we did not like to declare ourselves women, because — without at that time suspecting that our mode of writing and thinking was not what is called 'feminine' — we had a vague impression that authoresses are liable to be looked on with prejudice . . .' The surname Bell could come from the bells of their father’s St. Michael’s and All Angels church, or their father’s assistant curate – Arthur Bell Nicholls. The Ellis part is less certain but may come from Ellis Cunliffe Lister, Anne's employer's father, member of Parliament for Bradford. Do you know any other authors who use pen names? Let me know in the comments.
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What is this?When I started lostinclassics I looked for language lessons in the books I was reading, such as for example the use of phrasal verbs or inversion in conditionals and I explained them through examples found in the text. I also did reviews of the books I read and tried to give some advice on how to read classics using the various resources I know of. Then I switched to just reviews and lately I have been doing a bit of creative writing inspired by my reading. Who knows what I will come up with next! Archives
September 2020
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