Writers choose to change their name or write under a pseudonym for a variety of reasons…
Certain authors have used pen names, or ‘nom de plume’, for some or all of their work. The reason could be to experiment with a new genre without upsetting their regular readers or in the case of several female authors, to be taken more seriously. It could also be used to protect the identity of the author for a political or religiously sensitive work.
Here are some authors who have written under a different name:
Author’s Pen name or Pseudonym | Author’s real name |
Richard Bachman | Stephen King |
L. Frank Baum | Edith Van Dyne |
Nicholas Blake | Cecil Day Lewis |
Anne Brontë | Acton Bell |
Charlotte Brontë | Currer Bell |
Emily Brontë | Ellis Bell |
Anthony Burgess | John [‘Jack’] Burgess Wilson |
John le Carre | David John Moore Cornwell |
Lewis Carroll | Charles Lutwidge Dodgson |
George Eliot | Mary Ann Evans |
Hergé | Georges Remi |
Molière | Jean Baptiste Poquelin |
George Orwell | Eric Arthur Blair |
Ellery Queen | Frederic Dannay (with co‐author/cousin) |
Manfred B. Lee | |
J.D. Robb | Nora Roberts |
A. N. Roquelaure | Anne Rice |
Saki | Hector Hugh Munro |
George Sand | Amandine Dupin |
Dr. Seuss | Theodor Geisel |
Lemony Snicket | Daniel Handler |
Stendhal | Marie Henri Beyle |
Mark Twain | Samuel Langhorn Clemens |
Barbara Vine | Ruth Rendell |
Voltaire | François‐Marie Arouet |
Mary Westmacott | Dame Agatha Christie |