Famous female authors who have used male pseudonyms

Through ages, women have written books using male pen names for various reasons. From getting their books published in the male-dominated genres, fighting sexism or trying to reinvent themselves to write in a different genre-- the reasons for using a male pseudonym by women writers are plenty. Here's a list of famous women authors who've used male pseudonyms in the past and the reasons behind it.

Nelle Harper Lee abbreviated her name to a more androgynous sounding Harper Lee to publish her debut novel To Kill A Mockingbird, which soon became a bestseller. To Kill a Mockingbird was awarded the Pulitzer Prize soon after it was published. Set in a town in the 1930s, this novel explores racism and depicts the dramatics of the Great Depression. Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird amalgamates humour and sorrow in a touching story which follows the lives of Scout and Jem Finch. They experience racial discrimination in their society and coming of age, they see how their father, a lawyer, struggles to give justice to a black man charged for raping a white girl.
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Before taking up the male pen name of James Tiptree Jr., Alice Bradley Sheldon already worked as a graphic artist, art critic and painter. But when she decided to become a science fiction writer she chose a male pen name from 1967 to her death. "A male name seemed like good camouflage. I had the feeling that a man would slip by less observed. I’ve had too many experiences in my life of being the first woman in some damned occupation," she told Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine in an interview. It was later in 1977 that people came to know that James Tiptree Jr. was a woman. From 1974 to 1977 she also used the pen name Raccoona Sheldon, according to Wikipedia. Her award-winning works include the novella titled The Girl Who Was Plugged In.
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While the Bronte sisters are considered as great novelists today, the sisters chose to publish their first poetry collection under male pseudonyms in the 1800s. The book was titled Poems by Currer, Eliis, and Acton Bell (Emily aka Ellis, Anne aka Acton and Charlotte aka Currer). The reason: so that people take their work seriously. Charlotte later explained their decision saying, "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.”
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While most of us have grown up reading the Harry Potter books, few know the history behind the author's name in this fantasy novel series. Joanne Rowling published the first book of the Harry Potter series in 1997 under the name JK Rowling. She added an extra initial to her name, where 'K' stands for her paternal grandmother's name Kathleen. 'It was added at her publisher’s request, who thought a book by an obviously female author might not appeal to the target audience of young boys,' reads a line on Rowling's official website. But Harry Potter created history, even after the author's gender was revealed. Interestingly, years later Rowling used the pen name Robert Galbraith to publish a book in a different genre. Talking about it, she later said in an interview, “Being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience... It has been wonderful to publish without hype and expectation and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name."
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While Louisa May Alcott is known for writing the novels Little Women, and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys it was later discovered that she also used to write under a male pen name! The reason: Louisa May Alcott used the pen name A.M. Barnard to write gothic thrillers and young adult novels which were considered to be 'un-ladylike' in the 19th century. It was in 1940s that Louisa May Alcott's secret was discovered by a rare book dealer Madeleine B. Stern and librarian Leona Rostenberg.
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While using a male pen name by women authors to get their books published was a common practise in the 1800s, Jane Austen was one of the first women writers to break sexism. While Austen didn't reveal her name and published her writings under anonymity, she used the pseudonym "A Lady" to fight patriarchy. Some of popular classics include Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma.
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Mary Ann Evans chose to be a writer in the mid to late 1800s, when the literary world was dominated by men and women authors were not given the due respect that they deserved. Needless to say, she took the male pen name George Eliot to publish her writings-- a common practice among women authors in that era. Some of her books include Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, and Middlemarch.
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Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin is popularly known by her pseudonym George Sand, who was one of the most prolific writers of France in the 19th century. Born in 1804 Paris, Dupin's love stories often critiqued the social norms of her society. While Dupin was a feminist of her time, she also stirred controversies in Paris frequently for wearing of men’s clothing, her love affairs and for publicly smoking.
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