By Any Other Name
We all know that Samuel Clemens wrote under the name of Mark Twain and that George Eliot was really Marian Evans. But did you ever wonder about the back-story? In Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms Carmela Ciuraru examines this issue. The book looks at the lives of of authors who used pen names. In addition to Twain and Eliot, there are chapters on the Bronte sisters, Lewis Carroll, O. Henry, George Orwell and others.
Exploring the fascinating stories of more than a dozen authorial impostors across several centuries and cultures, Carmela Ciuraru plumbs the creative process and the darker, often crippling aspects of fame. Part detective story, part exposé, part literary history, Nom de Plume is an absorbing psychological meditation on identity and creativity.
