15 famous writers whose real names few people remember

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Very often, creative people prefer to use not their real names and surnames in public life. For some, this is a way to divide the types of activities, for others it is an opportunity not to expose their lives to the public. There are also those to whom real names seem less euphonious than pseudonyms. In our today's review, we suggest finding out the real names of famous writers.

Boris Akunin

Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili uses his real name exclusively for the publication of scientific works on Japanese studies and literary criticism, as well as critical articles. There are two more pseudonyms under which the writer's works are published: Anatoly Brusnikin and Anna Borisova.

READ ALSO: Boris Akunin still remembers what an indelible impression was made on him by Henry Mann, Alexey Tolstoy, Vladimir Neff, Yukio Mishima read in childhood >>

Georges Sand

The pseudonym of Amandine Aurora Lucille Dupin was born through co-authorship in the early period of writing with the French fiction writer Jules Sandot. The second reason for the emergence of a creative pseudonym and the choice of a male name is associated with the humiliating position of women in society. For Amandine Aurora Lucille Dupin, works published under a male pseudonym have become a kind of symbol of liberation.

READ ALSO: A Portrait Cut in Half, or What Separated Chopin and Georges Sand >>

Kir Bulychev

For his fantastic works, Igor Vsevolodovich Mozheiko used a pseudonym composed of the name of his wife (Cyrus) and the maiden name of the writer's mother. The reason for this was the fear of being dismissed from the Institute of Oriental Studies, where he was engaged in scientific work, specializing in the history of Burma. All scientific works of the famous science fiction writer were published under his real name.

READ ALSO: 10 wise and completely earthly thoughts of the unearthly writer Kir Bulychev >>

Alexander Green

In fact, the author of one of the most romantic works has tried many pseudonyms throughout his career. However, the one that was born from a school nickname seemed to him the most successful. Classmates in childhood called the future writer Green, and Alexander Stepanovich Grinevsky eventually even ceased to perceive his own surname.

READ ALSO: A novel that ended with a shot in the heart: Why Alexander Green wanted to kill his beloved >>

Teffi

Researchers of the work of Nadezhda Alexandrovna Lokhvitskaya suggest that the appearance of the pseudonym was dictated by the desire to stand out among the many novice writers and poets, isolating himself in the literary environment and from his sister Mirra Lokhvitskaya. However, there are other versions, according to one of which Nadezhda Alexandrovna considered the pseudonym part of a literary game that helps to create the image of the writer.

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorn Clemens explained that his pseudonym was compiled by him personally from the terms that are used in navigation. If we translate his invented name from the navigational adverb, then we get a “mark two”, denoting the mark of the minimum depth for safe passage by ships. Some historians argue that the name Mark Twain first appeared in the story of the writer Artemus Ward, and Clemens has already borrowed the name of one of the heroes.

Fannie Flagg

The author of famous works changed her name, Patricia Neal, back in the days when she did not think about the career of a writer, but dreamed of the fame of an actress. Unfortunately, there was already one Oscar-winning actress named Patricia Neal, and the girl had to become Fannie Flagg.

Daniil Kharms

Daniil Yuvachev definitely invented a new surname for himself, because in his works one can find, along with others, several more variations of the pseudonym "Kharms". Historians still do not agree on what is the nature of the author's pseudonym.

READ ALSO: "I'm only interested in nonsense …": Daniil Kharms is a genius of "black humor" and "literature of the absurd" >>

André Maurois

French writer Emile Salomon Wilhelm Erzog became so accustomed to his pseudonym that he later changed his real name. According to all documents, he officially became André Maurois.

Korney Chukovsky

Another writer whose pseudonym completely replaced his real name. Nikolai Korneichukov did not even want to remember his origin, ashamed of the fact that he was an illegitimate child. Having started his writing career, Kornei Ivanovich also changed his passport, legalizing his pseudonym as an official name and surname.

George Orwell

Eric Arthur Blair was forced to take a literary pseudonym, so as not to irritate his relatives, relations with whom were far from the best. The name George was taken in honor of the saint, considered the patron saint of England, and the surname turned out to be the name of the river where the writer visited as a child.

Robert Galbraith

J. K. Rowling will forever remain the author of the Harry Potter series. In order to avoid psychological pressure and not to disappoint her fans, the author decided to release a cycle of works about Cormoran Strike under a different name. Despite the measures taken, the secret of the writer was soon revealed.

O. Henry

William Sidney Porter, a simple pharmacist, could not decide for a long time under what name to publish his first works. Choosing the name O. Henry, the writer was often confused in his interviews when asked about his pseudonym. He said that the name Henry met in the news column, and the letter O was next to it in a completely random way, and then said that the letter with a dot means "Olivier".

Ann and Serge Golon

Simone Shangeo and her husband Vsevolod Golubinov chose pseudonyms to create a cycle of novels about Angelica. Although the majority of the texts were written by Simone Changeo, and Vsevolod Golubinov acted as a consultant, the publishing house insisted on double authorship.

The famous Russian writer Anton Chekhov worked as a "literary slave" for almost five years. His humorous stories were published in various magazines without publication of authorship. Later Chekhov began to use pseudonyms. The most famous of them is, of course, Antosha Chekhonte - the writer had more than fifty pseudonyms.