The use of pen names is as old as literature itself. Every genre has its share; our childhoods are littered with them (Dr. Seuss and Carolyn Keene ring a bell?). But few of us realize that some of our most beloved books of adulthood are written under pen names. Below are several of our favorite examples of pseudonymous (yes, that is a real word) works, from a classic of espionage fiction to contemporary science fiction and a certain bestselling literary series.
Who Wrote That?: 12 Books Written Under Pen Names
The Cuckoo's Calling
After Harry Potter, many wondered if J. K. Rowling would write again. Few expected her to adopt a pseudonym and successfully turn toward crime fiction. THE CUCKOO’S CALLING is the story of a struggling private investigator as he handles the case of a lifetime: the mysterious death of a supermodel.
The Cuckoo's Calling
After Harry Potter, many wondered if J. K. Rowling would write again. Few expected her to adopt a pseudonym and successfully turn toward crime fiction. THE CUCKOO’S CALLING is the story of a struggling private investigator as he handles the case of a lifetime: the mysterious death of a supermodel.
Close
My Brilliant Friend
Following years of interest in one of the most compelling modern literary mysteries, the true identity of Elena Ferrante was allegedly uncovered by The New York Review of Books earlier this month. MY BRILLIANT FRIEND is the first of four bestselling Neapolitan Novels by Ferrante. This coming-of-age tale of two precocious girls in 1950s Italy illuminates their strong bond in the midst of the rapid changes Italy faced throughout the twentieth century.
My Brilliant Friend
Stuart’s Fictional Dinner Party Guests: Elena and Lila
I’d like to host a dinner with an eye on close friendships. Friendships are fascinating because they are the one relationship in life that you aren’t required to be in because of birth or bound to by law. Those in attendance would ideally have a multiple-decade friendship like Elena and Lila of MY BRILLIANT FRIEND. And even though he’s not fictional, I’d love for my best friend to be sitting at the table, too.
MENTIONED IN:
Close
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
John le Carré is an icon of spy fiction. David John Moore Cornwell adopted his name to pen his espionage classics and the rest is history. This taut thriller depicts a British agent struggling to keep double agents alive and forced to go deep undercover in Cold War Berlin, where nothing and no one is what they seem.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
John le Carré is an icon of spy fiction. David John Moore Cornwell adopted his name to pen his espionage classics and the rest is history. This taut thriller depicts a British agent struggling to keep double agents alive and forced to go deep undercover in Cold War Berlin, where nothing and no one is what they seem.
MENTIONED IN:
Close
Addicted
ADDICTED, the most popular novel of Zane—the pseudonymous queen of erotic romance—tells the provocative story of a successful married businesswoman as she struggles between her sexual desires and her personal life.
Addicted
ADDICTED, the most popular novel of Zane—the pseudonymous queen of erotic romance—tells the provocative story of a successful married businesswoman as she struggles between her sexual desires and her personal life.
MENTIONED IN:
Close
The Running Man
When writing as Richard Bachman, Stephen King created one of his most nerve-racking tales: a dystopian novel in which a desperate man agrees to appear on a deadly game show called “The Running Man.”
The Running Man
When writing as Richard Bachman, Stephen King created one of his most nerve-racking tales: a dystopian novel in which a desperate man agrees to appear on a deadly game show called “The Running Man.”
Close
Middlemarch
When she adopted the name George Eliot in 1871, Mary Ann Evans ensured her work would be taken seriously. Now a classic of British literature, MIDDLEMARCH depicts the drama of everyday life in rural Britain as it dealt with the industrial and political changes of the nineteenth century.
Middlemarch
When she adopted the name George Eliot in 1871, Mary Ann Evans ensured her work would be taken seriously. Now a classic of British literature, MIDDLEMARCH depicts the drama of everyday life in rural Britain as it dealt with the industrial and political changes of the nineteenth century.
Close
Dog On It
Spencer Quinn, aka Peter Abrahams, is the author of the beloved and hilarious Chet and Bernie mystery series. DOG ON IT stars a private investigator and his ultra-intelligent, bacon-loving dog partner, Chet, who narrates these clever stories from his easily distracted canine point of view.
Dog On It
When a panicked mother approaches Bernie Little’s struggling detective agency with a missing person case, he can’t believe his luck. Narrated by Bernie’s canine sidekick Chet, this is a fast-paced tale of adventure, suspense, and the lovable loyalty of man’s best friend.
Close
Out of Africa
First published in 1937, this incandescent and vibrant memoir of the years Karen von Blixen-Finecke lived in Kenya was first published under her male pen name. Lyrical, elegiac, and wistful, OUT OF AFRICA depicts Blixen-Finecke’s love and respect for her adopted country, making you fall in love with it, too.
Out of Africa
Isak Dinesen’s narrative of her years spent on a 4,000 acre coffee plantation in the hills near Nairobi, from 1914 to 1931, is that of a master storyteller. Written after she had lost her beloved farm and returned to her native Denmark, her account looks back with an unsentimental intelligence to portray a way of life that is now gone forever.
Close
Assassin's Apprentice
With acclaimed authors such as George R. R. Martin counting themselves as fans, Robin Hobb, aka Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, is a treasured fantasy writer. ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE focuses on an illegitimate royal son and his secret training in magic and assassination.
Assassin's Apprentice
With acclaimed authors such as George R. R. Martin counting themselves as fans, Robin Hobb, aka Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, is a treasured fantasy writer. ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE focuses on an illegitimate royal son and his secret training in magic and assassination.
MENTIONED IN:
Close
Devoted in Death
Nora Roberts took on the name J. D. Robb as she began writing romantic suspense. Her first foray follows a NYPD lieutenant as she hunts down a dangerous killer and tries to ignore the seductive billionaire who is also a suspect in her investigation.
Devoted in Death
Nora Roberts took on the name J. D. Robb as she began writing romantic suspense. Her first foray follows a NYPD lieutenant as she hunts down a dangerous killer and tries to ignore the seductive billionaire who is also a suspect in her investigation.
MENTIONED IN:
Close
The Daughter of Time
Elizabeth MacKintosh became famous for her historical mysteries under the name Josephine Tey. In THE DAUGHTER OF TIME, an injured Scotland Yard inspector sets out to solve the 500-year-old mystery of the alleged murders of King Richard III’s royal nephews.
The Daughter of Time
Re-creating one of history’s most famous—and vicious—crimes, THE DAUGHTER OF TIME investigates who really killed Richard III’s nephews, the Princes in the Tower, and reveals the usurpers lying in wait behind the British throne.
MENTIONED IN:
Close
NOS4A2
Born Joseph Hillstrom King, Joe Hill became a modern master of horror with this supernatural tale of a child abductor who transports his captives to an otherworldly reality. Having never forgotten the young girl who managed to escape years ago, he sets his sight on a new victim: her son.
NOS4A2
NOS4A2 is a spine-tingling novel of supernatural suspense from master of horror Joe Hill, the New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box and Horns.
Close